F1 team to hold audition for 21-year-old sensation

Fornaroli sat in McLaren F1 car in garage at Barcelona GP with helmet visor open — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 team to hold audition for 21-year-old sensation

This McLaren star will be getting behind the wheel of rival machinery

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 17 June 2026 14:58

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A star of McLaren's racing ranks has been loaned out to a rival F1 team this week in what could be an audition for a full-time seat.

Last weekend's Barcelona Grand Prix saw Lewis Hamilton finally secure his first win in red whilst reigning champion Lando Norris picked up his second podium of the year with McLaren.

Though the F1 calendar is currently enjoying a short break before the next round in Austria, a 21-year-old sensation signed to the papaya squad has stayed in Spain to take to the Jerez circuit on Wednesday, June 17 and Thursday, June 18 with Haas.

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Despite winning the F3 and F2 championships consecutively, Leonardo Fornaroli is currently out of a seat in open-wheel racing.

However, the Italian driver received a boost to his hopes of an F1 promotion in December 2025 when, after winning the 2025 F2 title, McLaren announced that Fornaroli had signed to their driver development programme.

It was soon after also announced that he would be McLaren's reserve driver for the 2026 season, alongside IndyCar star Pato O'Ward.

Fornaroli swaps McLaren for Haas F1

Fornaroli made his F1 debut in Barcelona last time out when McLaren selected him as one of seven drivers across the grid who were swapping with full-time F1 stars during FP1 on Friday.

After getting a taste of grand prix weekend action during the first practice session in Barcelona, Fornaroli finished the hour up in P5 and just 0.8 seconds off the time set by George Russell, the best result of any of the rookies.

Having handled Norris' MCL40, Autosport have reported that Fornaroli will now get behind the wheel of older Haas F1 machinery as part of the squad's two-day Testing of Previous Cars programme (TPC).

As the 21-year-old seeks potential opportunities to join the F1 grid in 2027, Haas have taken him under their wing in Jerez where he will drive last year's F1 car alongside the American outfit’s reserve driver, Ryo Hirakawa.

Ex-Alpine F1 driver Jack Doohan is also signed to Haas' reserve ranks but is not expected to take part in this week's test, with Fornaroli and McLaren potentially aware that Haas could be the best shot at getting the Italian a full-time seat on the grid for next season.

After Fornaroli's FP1 debut last week, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said: "I’m very happy with his attitude, speed and consistency."

"Leonardo is definitely an asset for Formula 1 and we want him to drive. He could certainly do that for McLaren Racing in the future, but at the same time we are working together to explore every opportunity that may arise in Formula 1."

McLaren handed Fornaroli a lifeline by signing him to their development ranks following his F2 title win, but both of McLaren's F1 drivers are contracted to the Woking-based outfit until at least 2027/2028.

The papaya squad run by Stella and Zak Brown consistently reiterate they are more than happy with their driver lineup, whereas Haas F1's Esteban Ocon is reportedly under threat of being axed from next year onwards.

Should Fornaroli impress alongside seasoned driver Hirakawa during the TPC sessions, it could help he and McLaren to convince Haas he is worth signing up for next season.

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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