Leonardo Fornaroli took the FIA F3 championship in the most dramatic style, overtaking Christian Mansell on the last turn of the last lap to snatch the title from Gabriele Mini.
He showed incredible consistency throughout the season, winning the title despite failing to take a victory and only finishing in second place once in Formula 3.
The Italian driver has been racing with Trident for the past three seasons and has developed with the team since 2022, competing with them in FRECA.
Fornaroli should now have the opportunity to progress to the next step on the ladder to Formula 1, FIA Formula 2 for next season.
Giacomo Ricci outlined race pace and tyre management as Leonardo Fornaroli’s biggest areas of improvement in FIA F3
FIA F3 is a highly unpredictable championship with 30 drivers racing under the spotlight of Formula 1, desperately trying to make an impression and deliver results.
This makes for chaotic racing on Pirelli tyres which are notoriously difficult to grasp as they are different to the rubber used in series further down the ladder.
Understanding how the tyres work is vitally important to racing at the front in FIA Formula 3 as it can unlock more consistent pace in the races.
The Trident team manager Giacomo Ricci believes Fornaroli struggled with the tyres during his first season in the championship but developed that skill in 2024.
He told the official FIA F3 website: “When he saw that he had a weakness or things that were not at the top level he always worked hard, always asked for more, spent more time with the engineers, with us, with everyone.
“The biggest improvement for me from the first season compared to the second one was the race pace and tyre management because this year he has been very strong on this while last year, I have to say on the tyre management he was a little bit poor.
“But this year he learned to manage the tyres, he was more in the game with this and that’s why he has been so consistent and so competitive.”
Leonardo Fornaroli should step up to FIA Formula 2 for the 2025 season
After winning the FIA F3 title, the next logical step up for Fornaroli is Formula 2, the final step on the ladder towards Formula 1.
The series is hugely competitive, and there is a sizeable jump in performance from Formula 3 in terms of power and downforce. He will also have to learn how to drive with the 18-inch tyres in FIA F2.
It will be a tall order for Fornaroli, mainly as he hasn’t driven on some tracks on the 2025 calendar, such as the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar.
Another championship challenge is a possibility but the field has a depth of talent with many drivers backed by F1 teams.
Only a select few drivers have moved up to F2 and won the title in their rookie year, drivers such as George Russell and Oscar Piastri.