Leonardo Fornaroli has had a very impressive junior career so far and has been competitive in multiple championships while ascending the ladder to Formula 1.
The Italian driver began in go-karts and although he didn’t win a title, he challenged at the front of the field for much of his career – finishing third three times.
He transitioned to single-seater cars in 2020, beginning with the Italian F4 championship in which Fornaroli finished ninth in the standings as he adjusted to the very different world of racing.
Fornaroli continued to move up to quicker cars in the years after and scored his first podium finish in FIA Formula 3 with P2 in the Monaco Sprint Race while driving for Trident in 2023.
Leonardo Fornaroli won his first car race in Italian F4 in 2021
Fornaroli moved up to car racing for the 2020 season to compete in Italian F4 after multiple campaigns in go-karting to sharpen his skills.
The move from karts to cars can be daunting for some drivers as they begin to race at higher speeds and on much bigger circuits.
In addition to the increased speed, the driving technique required to race at the front of a single-seater field differs from karting as drivers begin to manage downforce.
Fornaroli began his stint in the Italian F4 championship with Iron Lynx, finishing fourth in his first race in cars at Misano.
He was consistently in the points, although difficult events at Imola, the Red Bull Ring and Mugello saw the Italian driver fail to score points.
The highlight of the season arrived at Monza, taking third place in the final race of the weekend which was a step in the right direction.
Fornaroli returned to Italian F4 for 2021 and he was much more competitive, scoring points in all three races at Paul Ricard to begin the season.
The following round yielded his first victory in single-seaters, too, as Fornaroli took the win in the first race of the Italian F4 weekend at Misano – a home track he performed well at the previous year.
His good form continued after winning at Misano as Fornaroli briefly usurped the eventual champion, Oliver Bearman, that weekend. In the final two races at Misano, Fornaroli finished in second and third places, proving he could compete among a grid of top-class talents.
Leonardo Fornaroli won the FIA Formula 3 championship in 2024
After Fornaroli developed throughout the early part of his junior career, racing in the Italian and ADAC F4 championships, he graduated to the Formula Regional European and Asian championships in 2022.
The Italian driver was competitive in his early years but failed to clinch a championship title. Fornaroli also only won one race in the 2021 Italian F4 Championship and one of the two races in the 2021 FIA Central European Zone Formula 4 series.
A step up to FRECA with Trident in 2022 yielded a quite similar story, too, with Fornaroli consistently scoring top-10 finishes but lacking the ultimate speed to fight for the title.
Yet despite his first three years racing in cars not proving to be spectacular, Fornaroli stayed with Trident as he stepped up to the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2023.
The Italian finished eighth on his FIA F3 debut in the Sprint Race in Bahrain and his form continued to improve in Monaco, where Fornaroli took his first podium with second place in the Sprint Race.
A couple more podiums followed with P3 in the Spain Sprint Race, as well as another second place at Silverstone – which was a very important result as it was his first podium in an FIA F3 Feature Race.
After a year of learning the Dallara F3 2019 car, Fornaroli returned to the championship with Trident again in 2024 and looked to challenge for the title.
He was incredibly consistent and Fornaroli kicked off the year with third place in the Sprint Race in the season opener in Bahrain.
His consistency continued throughout the year as the Trident driver scored points in every race apart from two of the 20. Fornaroli took his worst results of 2024 with P11 in the Imola Sprint Race and P12 in the Red Bull Ring Sprint Race.
Fornaroli also scored seven podiums over the 2024 FIA F3 season and avoided trouble, which allowed him to stay in the title mix despite never winning a race that year.
The Italian even clinched the championship at the last corner and on the last lap of the season on home soil as Fornarorli denied compatriot Gabriele Mini the 2024 FIA F3 title.
Fornaroli overtook Christian Mansell with an ambitious dive into Curva Alboreto on the last lap of the season at Monza to take second place and the championship, stealing it from compatriot Mini who was on course to claim the crown.
Winning the 2024 FIA F3 title also helped Fornaroli to graduate to Formula 2 for the 2025 season with Invicta Racing.
So, with that in mind, Full Oversteer takes a look at everything that you need to know about Fornaroli…
How old is Leonardo Fornaroli? Where was he born?
At the time of writing, Fornaroli is 19 years old and he was born on the 3rd of December 2004 in Piacenza, Italy.
How tall is Leonardo Fornaroli? What is his height in feet?
Fornaroli is 180cm tall, which measures at 5’9 in feet.
Leonardo Fornaroli’s career stats
As of the end of the 2024 season, Fornaroli has won one championship in single-seater racing, which was the 2024 FIA F3 title – despite never winning a race in the series.
2020 Italian F4 Championship: 20 races, 0 wins, 0 pole positions, 2 podiums
2020 ADAC F4 Championship: 3 races, 0 wins, 0 pole positions, 0 podiums
2021 Italian F4 Championship: 20 races, 1 win, 2 pole positions, 7 podiums
2021 ADAC F4 Championship: 6 races, 0 wins, 0 pole positions, 1 podium
2021 FIA Central European Zone F4: 2 races, 1 win, 1 pole position, 2 podiums
2022 Formula Regional Asian Championship: 9 races, 0 wins, 0 pole positions, 0 podiums
2022 Formula Regional European Championship: 20 races, 0 wins, 0 pole positions, 0 podiums
2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship: 18 races, 0 wins, 1 pole position, 3 podiums
2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship: 20 races, 0 wins, 2 pole positions, 7 podiums