Leonardo Fornaroli has confirmed that he and his management are in talks with Formula 1 teams for future roles, as his Formula 2 title bid ramps up.
The Italian leads the standings by 19 points from Jak Crawford with just two weekends to go, as he seeks to take back-to-back titles, having taken the Formula 3 crown last year.
Should he complete the feat, the Invicta driver will be the second consecutive driver to accomplish this, with Sauber F1 rookie Gabriel Bortoleto having achieved this last year, with the same team.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Fornaroli holds no junior links to an F1 team, but his performances will have surely put many on notice.
Speaking to Sky Italia over the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, Fornaroli said that he and his management team are currently negotiating with unnamed F1 squads, but said his full focus was on wrapping up the F2 title.
“My manager and I are doing a great job and are starting to hold discussions with F1 teams for next year,” he said.
“I, however, am focused on the end of this season, with the goal of winning.”
Championship battle heats up
The first weekend racing through the streets of Baku was one of mixed emotions for Leonardo Fornaroli.
He walked away with two fifth-place finishes, adding valuable points to his tally, but left the Azerbaijani capital wondering what could have been.
Despite narrowly missed pole position in qualifying, losing out to Jak Crawford by just 0.019 seconds, Fornaroli made an excellent getaway in the Feature Race, snatching the lead into Turn 1. For much of the opening stint, he looked in control.
However, an ill-timed Safety Car unravelled his Baku debut. Pitting for Soft tyres, only to be delayed in his pit box, cost Fornaroli crucial positions, ultimately dropping him out of podium contention.
As the race continued to unfold, the Italian faced yet another setback after receiving a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision with Alex Dunne.
Despite finishing third on the road, Fornaroli was demoted to fifth post-race.
“For the first time here, I am very happy about the performance. Already in Free Practice, we were looking quite strong.” Fornaroli reflected.
“Today we were starting P2, I had a very good start, a very good first stint on the Options, we were looking very competitive.
“When we went into the pit lane to box, unfortunately, all the drivers behind me boxed. So we had to wait a lot in the pit lane, and we lost four positions.”
When discussing his mid-race collision with Dunne, the Italian claimed full responsibility for the collision, and is aiming to learn from his mistakes heading into the final two rounds of competition.
“I was able to still finish P5, even with a 10-second penalty. It was very frustrating, I was hoping for a victory in the first stint and looking how the pace after the contact with Alex, I think we could have achieved a lot better…. I will try to learn from my mistakes this week and arrive stronger at the next races.”
While frustrated with the missed opportunity, Fornaroli emphasised the positives. His pair of P5 results kept him at the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings, though Crawford’s victory on Sunday has cut the gap to 19 points. With just two rounds remaining, the title battle is truly anyone’s game.
Despite the close battle, the Invicta driver is not worried about the drivers behind. Instead, he is closing in on focus on his own preparations ahead of the final stint in the series.
“Jak gained a lot on me, but still it will be a nice fight, I am looking forward to the next two rounds. But I am not worried, I am used to it.”
The Italian cited his championship victory in Formula 3 last season as to why he is so calm about the championship standings.
“I arrived in Monza with one point last year, and on the final day, at one stage, I was in P2. I will do a lot of sim, a lot of training, study all the races and hope for a nice weekend in Qatar.”
READ MORE – Jak Crawford takes Baku F2 Feature win to maintain title challenge
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