Leonardo Fornaroli is currently unattached to a Formula 1 team, but signing him could be “the deal of the century”, according to his Formula 2 boss.
The Italian is currently leading the F2 standings with Invicta after seven podiums, including Sprint victories at Silverstone and Spa, and a Feature win in Hungary.
Fornaroli has settled superbly into the premier feeder series, having won the Formula 3 title in dramatic fashion last year against fellow graduate Gabriele Mini.
His career trajectory matches that of current F1 rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, who won the F3 title before going straight into a victorious F2 season, also with Invicta.
Its Team Principal, James Robinson, could not speak highly enough of the 20-year-old, telling Autosport: “Leo has been phenomenal to work with; across the team, we would echo that.
“Obviously, for the second year in a row, we’ve taken the F3 champion into the team. And naturally, your expectations are high.
“Having worked with Gabi last year, who is showing his skill level in F1 now, the expectations were probably unreasonably high for Leo.
“We spent a lot of time trying to counterbalance that for his own sake.
“Actually, we found that – and I don’t want to make too many comparisons to Gabi – his development has been as strong, if not stronger.”
Robinson gave an insight into the level Fornaroli is at, citing his Spa and Hungary successes as examples of the sort of talent he possesses.
“The unique thing about Leo is his ability to execute, and in an unflappable way without mistake,” he highlighted.
“In the Spa Sprint Race, we had [Victor] Martins who had just passed [Amaury] Cordeel just before the Safety Car [which the contact with Cordeel produced] and he was putting in some really quick laps.
“We all said on the pit wall during the Safety Car that this is going to be a really tough race to win.
“But Leo just got his head down and just consistently put in lap after lap after lap; by the time the race had ended, he had a four- or five-second lead and he won the race quite comfortably. And he did exactly the same in the Hungary Feature Race.”
Invicta ‘astounded’ Fornaroli is yet to be snapped up by F1 team
Such is Robinson’s high regard for Fornaroli, that he is amazed no F1 team, such as Bortoleto – previously with McLaren – has found a place in its academy for him.
“I’m astounded at this stage, being candid, and that I cannot understand why Leo is not with an F1 team right now,” he expressed.
“He wouldn’t say this, because again, he’s only focused on his next race, so I see it very much as part of my role to say what a lot of people in our team are thinking.
“And it’s absolutely mind-blowing that he hasn’t been announced for an F1 role for next year already, given that most of the other drivers in the top seven or eight positions in the championship are part of F1 team academies.
“I think Leo is a bit of a Moneyball-type pick. He doesn’t do the big banzai moves that some drivers do.
“He doesn’t do silly dances on the podium. He’s not very outspoken in the media.
“But having worked in Formula 1 for 20 years, knowing what F1 teams look for in drivers, Leo is an exceptional guy in terms of developing a car.”
Robinson believes this sort of maturity that Fornaroli is conveying is just the sort of thing an F1 team should be looking for.
“I think if you did take a sort of more Moneyball-style approach, Leo would be the most obvious pick for anybody,” he explained.
“If you’re looking to develop a car, you need a driver that can deliver consistency, lap after lap after lap, they can give you that stable data point.
“Leo does that better than anybody in F2 right now. I think he would be the deal of the century for an F1 team at this stage.”
READ MORE – Leonardo Fornaroli heads Invicta 1-2 in Hungary with Feature Race victory
Discussion about this post