Back on the top step: Leonardo Fornaroli’s Silverstone Debrief

10 July 2025

Leonardo Fornaroli was back in the winner’s circle for the first time in Formula 2 at Silverstone, and the Invicta Racing driver could not have been happier.

The Italian’s Sprint Race win came a day after he struggled in Free Practice and Qualifying, but as reflecting on the weekend, Fornaroli was delighted with how Saturday and Sunday went.

A BIT OFF THE PACE

“We started Free Practice a bit far off from the pace. I didn't feel a hundred percent comfortable, it was very easy for me to make mistakes, so I struggled a lot to find the limit.

“But sometimes this can happen with the Hard tyre, it's completely different compared to the Softs, that we had in Qualifying, so I was still confident going into quali. There were a lot of things to improve on my driving, and we also changed somethings on the car.

“The first set in quali went quite well, but still I was leaving a bit too much margin, in the high-speed especially. Then when we went into the second set, I thought I was going to have the tyres lasting two push laps, like they did in the first set.

“But I made two mistakes on the first push. I was still quite calm knowing that I could push again, but as soon as I started, I felt less grip compared to the last one. I managed to improve, but in terms of performance, the tyres lost a lot compared to the first push.

Fornaroli achieved his first victory in Formula 2 in the Silverstone Sprint Race

“It wasn't the qualifying I was looking for, especially because it has been a strong point for me this season. Finishing P10, it was very disappointing for me, but still there was a chance to score nice points.”

THAT MAIDEN WIN

“Starting from Pole Position in the Sprint Race, I was confident that we could take the win. I had done some race simulations in the simulator before the weekend and they went very well, so I was confident on race pace.

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“But it wasn't the best of starts, Maini passed me. I said to myself ‘No please’ after losing P1, and then we started to fight. We got to T7, and I tried to go around the outside and he probably saw me in the mirrors, so to protect himself, he released the brake and went a bit wider, so by doing that, he left some space on the inside, and I saw it.

“I managed to get the switch back, and I arrived in the Copse on the inside, so I completed the move, and luckily, I was able to retain P1.

“I was feeling better with the car compared to qualifying. I had more confidence to push and was very, very happy about my race pace, because I managed to be quick at the start without destroying my tyres.

“I was able to defend well when Kush tried to attack me a couple of times and they started to fight, him, Seb and Roman, so I managed to gain a lot of time, and I managed everything to be able to be quick at the end.

Fornaroli gave his view of events in the Feature Race where he finished sixth

“When I saw that Seb had passed him, my engineers told me he had very good pace, so I knew it was time to push a bit more and save a bit less. Luckily, I managed the tyres very well, at the start and mid-race, so I was in very good condition at the end, so I was able to defend from him.

“We were running at a very similar pace, both pushing a lot, but he was never able to get within DRS, which was my main goal. He was always outside the one-second mark because with the DRS you can gain a lot.

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“But I managed to take my first win in F2, and I was very happy about it.”

ADDING MORE POINTS ON SUNDAY

“It was my first time in the wet in Formula 2, so it was not easy to adapt at the start of the race, in fact I lost a couple of positions. The overall pace was not bad, but I was struggling to push and to be quick.

“So the first stint was not the best in terms of performance, but towards the end of it, I actually regained pace, and I was quite quick. We had the Virtual Safety Car and then Safety Car, so we boxed, and at the restart, I knew I had only two laps to try to regain some positions and, in that moment, I was P10.

“We arrived in T6, and there was a Safety Car again, but in those six corners a lot happened. Someone spun at the restart, Victor in front had a broken front wing, so he was slowing us down.

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“But I was able to pass the other two cars at the exit of T4, so in five corners I went from P10 to P6, which was quite nice, and then the race ended under Safety Car. So P6 at the end, not bad considering where we were at the start, and overall, 18 points.

“Considering I struggled a lot of Friday, 18 points is very good, and I'm quite happy about the weekend.”

LOOKING AHEAD TO SPA AND BUDAPEST

“I can't wait. I am really looking forward to Spa and the Hungaroring. They are two tracks I like a lot. The goal will be the same, try to score as many point as possible, and also try to be a bit more aggressive, which is something I have to improve on in the fights especially. So can't wait for it.”