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

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Gabriel Bortoleto took advantage of an early Safety Car to grab an amazing FIA Formula 2 Feature Race win at Monza.

The Brazilian, who started in last place, capitalised to close the gap in the championship to just 10-and-a-half points with Isack Hadjar failing to score, the title-leader finishing 11th. Fellow contender Paul Aron was taken out at the start of the race, handing Bortoleto a best case scenario that he could not have even dreamed of at the start.

Pole-sitter Zane Maloney was second, with Richard Verschoor another to make good of the early drama to take third. Kimi Antonelli was fourth after a near-race-long battle with team-mate Oliver Bearman, with Joshua Durksen fifth and Victor Martins sixth.

Bearman was seventh with Rafael Villagomez eighth. Jak Crawford and Enzo Fittipaldi rounded-up the top 10.

HOW THE RACE UNFOLDED

At the start, Maloney got away poorly, with Aron set to take the lead, but was punted off immediately by Marti who took to the escape road, giving the Rodin a clear run into the Roggia as the Prema pair of Antonelli and Bearman tussled behind, the Englishman coming-out on top before the Safety Car was deployed.

The race would start again into lap three with Maloney getting away well, holding-off Bearman with Hadjar taking Durksen for fourth. Bearman, fresh from his Saturday Sprint victory, looked up for another good result, keeping in-touch with Maloney, with Crawford taking Cordeel for sixth into lap four.

The race developed into a rhythm, with Cordeel dropping behind Martins as Durksen took fourth back off Hadjar and a lap later at Rettifilo, took Antonelli brilliantly for third.

Bearman pitted at the end of lap six, with Hadjar now looking intent on taking Antonelli for third, with Crawford also maintaining interest behind them. Antonelli went wide on the exit of Ascari, with Hadjar taking third. The trio would all pit together along with Maloney, handing the lead to Bortoleto.

Denis Hauger would spin off at T1, bringing out yellow flags and then the Safety Car, giving Bortoleto a huge opportunity to capitalise and pit whilst under the conditions, which he did so, handing Oliver Goethe the lead un the short-term, with Kush Maini, Juan Manuel Correa, Roman Sanek and Neils Koolen following, but all needing to pit.

The Safety Car entered the pits at the start of lap 11 with Goethe holding-off Maini’s challenge, with Koolen taking evasive action after a botched overtake and going down the escape road at Rettifilo. Bortoleto and Verschoor, the effectively one and two, were now fourth and fifth. Koolen, in his first F2 weekend, dropped back further having gone wide at Ascari and onto the gravel.

Bearman would take Stanek for eighth and then set about Durksen, who then went wide and onto the T1 escape road. Maini took the lead from Goethe as team-mate Bortoleto grabbed third from Correa, who then dropped behind Maloney at the end of lap 14, with Bortoleto taking second from Goethe.

Bearman tried to take Correa for sixth, going wide at the Roggia chicane, as Antonelli locked-up at Rettifilio as he tried to take Martins. Martins would then take Bearman a lap later for sixth, as Maini allowed Bortoleto through with a minimum of fuss, the Brazilian now in a commanding position in the lead.

Correa’s race was run by lap 17, pulling into the pits and retirement. At T1, Bearman and Antonelli were in their own battle for seventh place, as Verschoor, another beneficiary of the Safety Car, sat in fifth. Maloney unsuccessfully tried twice to pass Goethe, still needing to pit, but would eventually make a move stick by the end of lap 18, with Bortoleto now a whole second-and-a-half clear at the front.

Antonelli, frustrated and stuck in eighth, told his team over radio that Bearman was moving under braking as both pursued Martins. The pair’s battle continued with Bearman continuously closing the door on his team-mate, with Durksen lurking behind.

Bortoleto was now nearly four seconds ahead of Maini, and the Premas’ battle resolved with Antonelli bravely taking Bearman up the inside at the exit of the Rettifilo, holding firm and leaving him no space, leaving Bearman with two wheels on the gravel, dropping him behind Durksen.

The AIX’s straight line speed was mighty, and at the start of lap 25, he breezed past Antonelli for sixth, but then made an error going into the Roggia, giving the place back to Antonelli, who would then take Martins for fifth.

Durksen would use his straight line speed again to take Martins for sixth, as Maini would finally pit, handing Maloney second and Verschoor third.

Now on the final lap, Durksen tried to take Antonelli for fourth, but the Mercedes-bound man would hold him off, as Bortoleto, over eight seconds ahead, would take a brilliant win that nobody would expect, with Maloney second and Verschoor third.

In a weekend in which one youngster in Antonelli secured a Formula 1 seat, with another in Bearman already firmly there too, Bortoleto may well have brought his name into the conversation as a future star.

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