Fornaroli keen to be more ‘aggressive’ in the Feature after finishing seventh in Jeddah Sprint

19 April 2025

Leonardo Fornaroli believes he and his Invicta Racing team have more pace to find for Sunday after the Italian rookie finished the Jeddah Sprint Race in seventh.

The 20-year-old lined up in P8 but a good start got him up to seventh on Lap 1. He settled into the position but dropped down to his starting position when Jak Crawford overtook him.

However, once the DAMS Lucas Oil driver spun into a stoppage, he regained the place, before overtaking compatriot Gabriele Minì at the restart to go up to sixth.

Minì then retook the position from Fornaroli on the final lap, and speaking in the paddock afterwards, the rookie reflected on his first race in Jeddah.

“It was not an easy race,” said Fornaroli. “Physically it was quite hard. There are some parts of the track that you have no rest, the G-Forces are quite high, so it was a bit difficult, but I survived.

Fornaroli finished seventh in the Jeddah Sprint Race for Invicta

“It was all fine, but there were lots of battles. I thought it was going to be a more free-flowing race but there were some moves. But we have some points to improve for tomorrow. The pace was good, but I was missing something to be able to fight for more.

“I managed to have a good start, I gained one position, then stayed in P7 for most of the race, then lost one position, then the guy in front of me crashed, so I regained it. Then with the Safety Car, at the restart I managed to overtake the car in front of me.

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“I thought it was all fine but then I had a big drop in the last two laps and unfortunately, I lost one position on the last lap. So, P7, two points, still not bad, and now we will see what we can improve for tomorrow.”

When asked to expand further on just how physically demanding the 20 laps of racing were, Fornaroli replied: “It’s very hard because there is almost no room for mistakes, and to be fast you have to be on the limit.

“So, you need to build your confidence, lap by lap. We had a lot of simulator preparation before this round, so we managed to adapt quite quickly.”

Fornaroli is targeting a fast start from P3 in the Feature Race

The 20-year-old will be back on track on Sunday afternoon for the longer Feature Race, where he is set to start from third. Fornaroli’s plan of action for the event is already clear.

“I will start P3, so I will try to have a good start,” he said. “Maybe I can gain some positions or otherwise stay there, do my thing, and try to collect points.

“There were also some racing lines that I was doing wrong and maybe I can be a bit more aggressive when attacking and when defending in the fight.”