There are many talented junior racing drivers amongst them, their egos boosted by lifetime victories in karting and entry-level single-seaters. When drivers reach Formula 3, the wheat begins to be separated from the chaff, with only 30 spots available every year to proceed their climb to the tantalising prospect of F1.
Comparing CVs and looking out solely at pre-season achievements, Leonardo Fornaroli was probably not a reputation you’d have predicted to complete the championship on top. His two wins in 98 single-seater races – each in F4 competition in 2021 – three pole positions and 15 podiums didn’t appear to be the CV of a driver who can be in comparison with the perfect of his peers.
Oh, how improper we were.
What has flown under the radar is the Italian’s consistency and increasing ability to get to the chequered flag without incident. He finished every race he entered within the Formula Regional European in his debut 2022 season, didn’t see the flag only once when he moved as much as F3 last 12 months and had an ideal ending record within the campaign that has just ended.
Then there was his prowess in points. In the primary eight races of his FRECA profession, Fornaroli didn’t rating in 4 starts. But in the following 12 races, he scored in all but one. That trend continued last 12 months in F3, remaining with Trident, when he scored in 11 of the 18 races, ending eleventh overall – not bad for a rookie.
He has only didn’t rating points twice this season, ending eleventh within the Imola Sprint and twelfth within the Red Bull Ring Sprint (from twenty fourth on the grid, by far his worst starting position) to increase his final tally of 153 points.
“This season reminds me a bit of the one I had two years ago in Formula Regional when I won the rookie title without any rookie wins because I was just more consistent than the others, so I kept finishing second and managed to take the title,” said the 19-year-old after securing the title in dramatic fashion, passing Christian Mansell on the ultimate lap – before the disqualification of foremost rival Gabriele Mini prolonged his points result in 23 points.
A consistent approach to scoring points meant that despite not winning a race, Fornaroli (right) secured the F3 championship title
Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
“I had two or three good probabilities to win races. The first one was Melbourne. Unfortunately, in qualifying I had a set of tyres that didn't work well, so we needed to take one other one, which was for the second race, so I began on used tyres in comparison with the others, after which Dino [Beganovic] from the center of the race to the tip he was simply faster than me. But P2 was still good.
“Imola is second. The pace was incredible and we got the primary two or three with Trident. I didn't have latest tyres there but the whole lot was great. When Ollie Goethe passed me on the straight, I went a bit more to the suitable than before and got a surprise on the straight that I didn't know was there, the automotive stalled completely and I lost three positions again. It was one other great opportunity.
“On Sunday, unfortunately, I didn't win. It was supposed to be amazing to win the title without winning. I will analyze the race to see what I did wrong so that I don't repeat it in the future.”
“Now that the adrenaline has died down, I've started to realize that Sunday's race wasn't perfect. I'll look at all of this to try to improve for the future.”
Leonardo Fornaroli
Asked if there was a moment when he consciously prioritized the championship over individual race wins, Fornaroli added: “I think after Silverstone I said to myself: OK, now to get back to the top I have to be there always, even if I don't win.” [races]'. That was an important moment of the season, after I completely modified my attitude.'
While it is straightforward to praise Fornaroli for his consistency throughout the season, there will likely be those that query whether he has that extra edge, those extra tenths of a second that separate the nice drivers from the truly great ones.
Having moved as much as F2 for 2025 with Invicta, the identical team that currently fields the 2023 F3 champion and an F2 title challenger for Gabriel Bortoleto, the pressure will likely be on to quickly prove that he can come out on top in a single event. After all, winning a championship and not using a single victory is lots like lightning – it doesn’t strike twice.
In his favour, Fornaroli is the primary to confess to the concept, repeatedly saying he desires to analyse where things could have gone higher and learn how to avoid repeating mistakes. Asked if the shortage of a race win matters to him, he replied: “Of course, now I care less, but now that the adrenaline has died down I’ve started to realise that Sunday’s race wasn’t perfect. I’ll look at all of this to try and improve for the future and try to get my first win in these categories.”
Fornaroli admits his performances in 2024 weren’t ideal, but he lost fewer points than his rivals, which proved decisive
Photo: Sam Bloxham / Motorsports images
Of the 12 different drivers to win races in 2024, Mini's closest rival has claimed one podium finish, while Luke Browning finished third with two wins and Arvid Lindblad fourth with 4 wins. The only other drivers to complete in the highest 12 and not using a win were Mansell (fifth) and Noel Leon (tenth).
Fornaroli added: “I'm the only driver in front who hasn't had a win, as you said, and that shows that I'm more consistent than the others. So even though Luke, Arvid and Gabi had more wins than me, I managed to be more consistent than them, especially in the last three rounds and finish ahead of them.”
This season was something of a wierd one then. Was Fornaroli the fastest on the grid? You could say no, even when he was certainly one of only two drivers (together with Browning) to have won pole greater than once. But was he capable of string together a consistent set of strong weekends with fewer mistakes than anyone else? Yes.
While he may look with envy on the growing trophy cabinets of some rivals, make no mistake, there will likely be 30 drivers in F3 next 12 months and 21 in F2 who’ve studied every second of what Fornaroli has done this season. It wasn’t the points he scored that earned Fornaroli the F3 title, it was the shortage of points. That’s a lesson all young drivers can learn from this deserving champion.
Fornaroli sets an unusual winning pattern within the junior racing automotive category
Photo: Simon Galloway / Motorsports images
