Attention to detail, “superpowers” and speed: How Fornaroli has hit the ground running at Invicta Racing

Third in the Drivers’ Championship, two podium finishes and a Pole Position in just three rounds – Leonardo Fornaroli’s start to life in Formula 2 has been impressive.

The reigning F3 Champion has switched from familiar territory in TRIDENT to Invicta Racing for his graduation. It was a conscious move says Team Principal James Robinson, who explains how the Italian driver has done in his adaptation to the team and new Championship.

“We've been really impressed with Leo, and he's hit the ground running very well and very quickly,” Robinson said of his driver. “The thing that's impressed us most is how well he's done in qualifying, and he's how he's able to turn in quick laps under pressure when it really matters.

“At testing his times, based on where we understood everyone else to be, were good but frankly, wasn’t raising huge eyebrows for us, positively or negatively.

“What really did raise eyebrows was when he went four-tenths quicker than anyone after the first runs in qualifying in Melbourne. He was able to find and put together his ultimate lap in his first qualifying run on the Option tyre, which really goes some way to show what he's capable of.”

2025 marks the first time Fornaroli has driven for a British team, and he’s handled the change well according to Robinson.

For the driver himself, the team have been hugely welcoming, and he already feels at home within the Invicta setup having started his collaboration with them ahead of the final F3 round last season.

“I feel very happy with Invicta, and their support is helping a lot, because if you’re comfortable with your team, you’re working with your engineer better and have that little bit more confidence in that he trusts you and you trust him.

“That has been very important for me. I thought that the team would work differently to how they actually do. In the end, they work simply and efficiently, and since the first time I went to the workshop ahead of Monza last year, I felt at home with the mechanics and engineers.

“I already felt like we’d be able to go and do a good job. I still have some things to improve in terms of the way I’m working with my engineer. But overall, I’m happy.”

"He's incredibly meticulous. In fact, it's what we all refer to as his superpower"

Robinson added that the “meticulous” Fornaroli has had the right attention to detail which has stood out to the team in his adaptation in the early months of the season.

He credits the 20-year-old for his work that has helped the team win silverware in two of the three rounds so far in 2025.

“He was quite keen to race for a British team. He's never raced for a non-Italian team before, and I think it's important for his development. He's fitted in brilliantly. He is an absolutely lovely human being, just like his predecessor in that car, Gabriel.

“There’s a little bit of getting used to working with the engineers and understanding a little bit of stuff on the radio. His race engineer is Spanish, and they're both speaking to each other in English. So, there’s a little bit of time to get used to that, but he is a confident guy.

“You wouldn't necessarily think it maybe when you first meet him, but he's got an inner confidence. He's incredibly meticulous and thorough to a point that I've never seen before with a driver.

“In fact, it's what we all refer to as his superpower. I think he'll be in an even more confident place by the end of the year.

READ MORE: Martí reveals where he and Campos have been strong in 2025 ahead of European triple header Fornaroli’s first months with the team out of the car have gone smoothly, and now the focus is all on gaining even more performance in the car.

He believes that his Qualifying speed is where it needs to be, and it’s now about translating that into long run pace for the Feature Races.

“I’ve been able to adapt quite quickly to the car, especially in Qualifying. In the races, compared to Abu Dhabi and in Barcelona testing, we’ve made a good step forward.

“There are still some things to improve, like we saw in Jeddah, but overall, it’s been a very positive start. It surprised me because looking at Abu Dhabi and Barcelona testing, I wasn’t looking that strong. But as soon as we went into a race weekend, I confirmed that I had good speed and could fight for the top positions.

“But just because we’ve had a positive start, doesn’t mean we’re going to be strong in every round. We will go into every round and work just as hard as we have been, give my best and see what happens.”

With the triple header coming up, results will shape the course of the F2 2025 season, and the goals are elevated after three weekends-worth of experience.

For the Invicta Team Principal, the aims are clear and echo what Fornaroli believes is the area to improve. Robinson adds that he expects that the rookie will grow into the season, just as Gabriel Bortoleto did en route to the title last season.

“By the end of the year, Gabriel was doing more speaking than listening, I would expect that as well with Leo"

“I think what we'd like is to convert some of that qualifying speed into more consistent race pace. He's finished both Feature Races behind where he started. We'd like to reverse that trend moving forward and that will come with time.

“He's still learning, the difference between F3 and F2 and he's probably listening more than he's speaking at this stage, which is not uncommon, and that was the same with Gabriel last year.

“By the end of the year, Gabriel was probably doing more speaking than listening, and that was also the case as well in 2023 with Jack Doohan. I would expect that would be the case as well with Leo.

“Ultimately, I think the plan is to keep going as we are. I don't think we should be talking about championships or points or where we are. We need to focus on the process. And if we do the process right, then the results will come.”

READ MORE: Browning in a ‘good place’ heading to Europe as he praises the quality of his F2 rivals

While Fornaroli would love to emulate his friend and former F3 teammate, he is taking things once race weekend at a time.

In a team he feels at home with already and having made such a positive start to the campaign, attention turns to fixing the final details for what he hopes will be another big year in his career.

“I think it’s going to be similar to how it’s been so far because we saw in Bahrain, a track everyone knows well, we were still competitive. Now going to the European tracks, I think things will be the same.

“We can’t relax just because everything is going well. Everyone is trying to achieve their best, we are no different. I want to maintain our strong performances we’ve had in Qualifying and just improve the races and try to score good points.”