McLaren offer F1 lifeline to champion after confirming singing

McLaren have handed an F1 lifeline to Italian racing star Leonardo Fornaroli off the back of his 2025 F2 championship victory.

At last weekend's Qatar Grand Prix, F1 and its competitive feeder series F2 took to the track in Lusail with both championships still up for grabs.

But, after a disaster for McLaren F1 duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, only the F2 title was claimed, and the battle for F1's top trophy now rolls on to this weekend's season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Zak Brown's F1 squad may be firmly focused on the campaign's upcoming conclusion, but it hasn't stopped the papaya outfit from adding to their driver development programme, with Fornaroli one of the latest talents to sign on as a McLaren driver.

Fornaroli is only the third driver to achieve back-to-back titles in F2 and F3, and likely caught the attention of the Woking-based team due to the fact that the other two drivers to have also done so are Piastri and former McLaren junior Gabriel Bortoleto.

Despite picking up four victories and five podiums in this year's F2 sprint and feature races, the 20-year-old wasn't signed to an F1 team's junior programme until now, making the step up to F1 look near impossible for him in the future.

However, he has now joined McLaren's programme and will take on a test and development role within the F1 team, providing him a potential lifeline to prepare for a step up to F1 with the team should the opportunity present itself in the coming seasons.

Following the exciting news, Fornaroli said: “I’m incredibly proud to be joining the McLaren Driver Development Programme after another successful year on track. Winning both the FIA Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles has been an important step in my journey, and I’m motivated to take the next step in my development through the programme as I work toward my ultimate goal of racing at the highest level.

“I’m very grateful to McLaren for this opportunity, and to everyone who has supported me throughout my career so far. I can’t wait to get started and work closely with the rest of the team.”

McLaren continue junior driver recruitment boost

Fornaroli may be best placed to make the step up to F1 should either Piastri or Norris choose to leave the squad in the future, but he is far from the only talent to sign up to McLaren's driver development programme in recent weeks.

The team recently welcomed Ella Stevens and Ella Hakkinen to their ranks, and yes, the latter is the daughter of two-time champion Mika Hakkinen.

The team seem set on boosting their junior talent pool to prepare for the future, and along with the announcement of Fornaroli's signing, McLaren also confirmed that Richard Verschoor and Christian Costoya would be joining the team.

Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Chief Business Affairs Officer at McLaren Racing, added: “McLaren Racing are delighted to welcome two of Formula 2’s current leading drivers in this year’s Champion Leonardo Fornaroli and former Championship contender and fellow front-runner Richard Verschoor, as well as proven karting champion, Christian Costoya, to the McLaren Racing Driver Development Programme.

“All three talented drivers have shown great race craft with multiple wins this season, alongside a number of impressive performances in their respective championships. By welcoming Christian to the programme alongside long-standing member, Dries Van Langendonck, we now also have two of the most promising drivers coming out of karting.

“It is a key priority that we continue to develop our talent pipeline to provide options for all of our expanding racing teams. We look forward to working closely with all our drivers in 2026 as they continue their individual development at various stages of their career with the support of the programme through a wide range of testing and progression opportunities across all of our racing series.”

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