Leonardo Fornaroli says ‘points and podiums’ key to title charge in final races

21 November 2025

Current Championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli is aiming to become just the third driver to achieve back-to-back titles in FIA Formula 3 and Formula 2, and with two rounds remaining, he is in position to.

Leading the pack on 188 points, 19 clear of closest challenger Jak Crawford, the Invicta Racing driver says nothing changes despite his advantageous position.

Ahead of Qatar, Fornaroli talked about how 2025 has unfolded, how achieving a long-awaited victory doesn’t change anything for him and why he is still chasing more performance in the final races.

“It was a positive first half of the season,” he explained. “We were able to finally achieve some wins which was a nice feeling. I’m happy about our performances but from my side, I could have done some things better and avoided some mistakes, but I think that’s quite normal.

“We missed out on opportunities earlier in the season, like in Bahrain, but you can’t be perfect every weekend, it’s normal to make mistakes. But now we are in a very good position, and we go into the final rounds, and I will be giving my best. The goal now is to be consistent and score points, like I did last year.”

Fornaroli has been pleased with Invicta's wins in 2025 but is aiming for consistency

It has been a big season in the 20-year-old’s racing career. Fresh from his first single-seater title, Fornaroli took a step into the unknown by leaving an Italian team for the first time.

In Invicta, he says he has found a great environment that has brought the best out of him, and with a teammate in Roman Stanek that has pushed both he and the team forward all year.

“Before this year, I’d only worked with Italian teams, so going into this year, I didn’t know what to expect, but I love it here.

“Since the first day though I’ve felt amazing. It’s a pleasure to work with Invicta and the atmosphere within the team is amazing. They’ve really worked well with me this year and given me the right motivation to compete, even if you have a bad weekend or make mistakes.

“That’s the right way to do things and with Roman as my teammate, I think it’s been great. He has been very good as a teammate because he’s experienced, very quick and I’ve been able to learn lots of things from him.”

He is not the first driver to go from TRIDENT in F3 to Invicta in F2 and immediately fight for the title.

His Budapest victory remains his standout moment from the 2025 campaign so far

Friend and former teammate Gabriel Bortoleto made the same move, and secured both titles in consecutive seasons, something Fornaroli is eager to emulate.

He says that Bortoleto’s input this year has been valuable, and while they may no longer be teammates, conversations have helped him in 2025.

“Since last year, I’ve tried to follow what Gabriel did. He won F3 and then F2 in successive seasons. I will try to follow his footsteps in F2 now. He’s a nice guy, he’s given me advice and been kind with me and his time.

“We stay in touch, less than when we were teammates because he’s in F1 now, but we still see each other every now and again. He was there to congratulate me on my first win and I’m happy for him with how well he’s doing in F1.”

Another dimension to add into the equation is that Fornaroli has title fight experience via his last-gasp triumph at Monza, securing the crown at the final corner in the final race of the season.

The Italian driver says his F3 title fight will help him in the final rounds of the season

He believes that having endured such a dramatic Championship battle, those experiences put him in a better position this time around, as he has been able to lean on those lessons this time around.

He says the biggest key however remains consistency, and he has no doubt that his rivals will be targeting the same in the final four races of the year.

“To have that kind of experience helps because it prepares you for every kind of situation that might happen. I think race two in Monza last year, everything that could happen did happen. It was crazy.

“To come out of that situation has helped me a lot. The most important thing for me now is the consistency. Every driver that is a title contender has been consistent. Wins, podiums, points.

“It would be nice to achieve a few more wins before the end of the year but I don’t want to go too crazy in setting goals. The important thing is to fight for the top positions, even if you don’t get the wins. Now, having achieved some wins, it’s a nice feeling, but it’s now about my own personal achievement.

“I will be working with the team as much as possible, learning from past mistakes and trying to grow more as a driver in general, because you have to be complete to be successful. I will try to score as many points and be consistent, learn from my mistakes and we will see.”