In his debut Formula 2 season, Leonardo Fornaroli managed to achieve his maiden win at the F2 British GP sprint race. This win has been a long time coming for the Italian driver who despite winning the 2024 Formula 3 championship, did not win a race all year.
The Silverstone sprint race winner shared his thoughts at a press conference attended by Pit Debrief.
Fornaroli comfortably controlled the pace
Though a very consistent driver, Fornaroli has been shy of wins in recent seasons. The Invicta Racing driver reacted to his Silverstone sprint race victory.
Starting the race on sprint pole, Fornaroli was slow off the line at the British GP. He soon lost the lead to Maini, who started next to him on the front row. Fornaroli was extremely keen to get his lead back, which he successfully did on the opening lap with a brave pass out of Luffield.
“I’m very happy, very satisfied about the race. It wasn’t a very good start. Kush (Maini) passed me and there I said, ‘No please, I have to regain that P1.’ We fought quite a bit going to T7 and then luckily I managed to repass him.”
Once he regained the lead of the race, Fornarli controlled the pace. He led comfortably without much of a challenge from his competitors behind. Fornaroli shared how he managed the gaps to the cars behind him, especially with the DRS zones.
“Then there was no safety car so it was like a qualifying race. I knew I had to have a nice gap to the P2 guy before the big DRS zones, otherwise they were going to pass me. It was fun!”
For much of the race, Fornaroli made sure that Maini behind him did not have DRS. Once Montoya overtook Maini for second place, that is when Fornaroli began to feel the pressure.
“I’m very happy about the tyre management and everything because I was able to arrive in good condition at the end to be able to fight with Sebastian. It was quite close and we were pushing like crazy but I’m very satisfied about the day. It’s a sprint race of course, but still P1 is good.”
A tense first lap to regain the lead
After losing his lead of the race once the lights went out, Fornaroli was incredibly gain to regain it. The Italian driver spoke through his thought process as he initially struggled to make a move stick.
“I didn’t panic even though I really wanted to regain P1 as soon as possible because I knew still the race was long and the pace was going to be good. We did a nice fight until T7. I tried to go on the outside there, I think he saw me on the mirror so he tried to push a bit more so he didn’t have a good exit and he ran a little bit wide.
“I was able to get a switch back and go side by side with him until T9. Then I was on the inside, so I pushed the entry and it’s very difficult to go around the outside of Copse so I was able to regain the position.”
Once he regained his lead, Fornaroli was keeping a close eye on the rest of the field. He explained how this affected his tyre strategy.
“Because I was managing everything also by watching what the guys behind were doing. So if they were coming closer to me I was starting to push more, if I saw that there was a gap I was trying to chill a bit more to be able to arrive with good condition at the end. The car felt very good today so I’m also confident going on tomorrow because I think the pace was very good.”
A long-awaited victory
Having not achieved a single win when he won the Formula 3 championship, Fornaroli has gained a reputation as a consistent driver. Having now achieved his first win in Formula 2 at the British GP, the Invicta Racing driver shared why his performance was different here.
“Today I was quite confident that I could take it. The last rounds I started on pole a few times and I couldn’t get the win so I really wanted the P1. Finally I took it and I’m very satisfied.”
For tomorrow’s feature race at the British GP, Fornaroli will line up in tenth, hence why he started the sprint race on pole. The Italian driver shared how adjustments were made following this poor qualifying and why his performance was stronger today.
“There was also a bit of pressure at the start because Kush was quite close but I knew the pace was good. We adjusted quite a lot of things compared to yesterday. It’s also nice to bounce back from a disappointing quali. I saw that the pace was good today so I’m also happy about that, happy that the adjustment we did worked.”
Although he led the race once he regained P1 on the opening lap until the checkered flag, Fornaroli shared how he felt the pressure increase once Montoya gained P2.
“Then speaking about the race, through mid-race I saw Kusch dropping back and then like five or six laps to go, Seb overtook him and he was looking quite strong. So I said, ‘Okay it’s time to push.’ Luckily, as I said before, I was in good condition with the tyres so I was able to remain in front of him so I’m happy about today.”
Pleased with sprint victory but looking for more
Although happy with his maiden victory in Formula 2 at the British GP, Fornaroli emphasised his hopes for a feature race victory. When asked by Pit Debrief for his thoughts on his win, the Italian driver shared how it has given him a confidence boost.
“As I said before, it’s very satisfying now to finally have a win in F2. I don’t know. It’s a sprint race, it’s still a win but it will not change much because I will try to push to achieve a bit more but it’s a little boost of confidence.”
Fornaroli was later asked for his Formula 2 championship hopes. After the Silverstone sprint race, Fornaroli sits second in the championship. He is 20 points behind Verschoor, who is leading.
The Italian driver shared how although his consistency has helped him get so high in the standings, he has to aim for bigger points finishes.
“Still a bit too much, there are still quite a lot of rounds to go. Everything can happen as I saw last year. I will try to from this point to try to achieve as many points as possible. Luckily the last year being consistent, always finish the race to collect data, to be stronger the next day and achieve as many points as possible.”
Sharing a podium with teammate
Responding to a question asked by Pit Debrief, Fornaroli shared how he was cheering on his Invicta Racing teammate Roman Stanek, who crossed the line in P3.
“It’s very close between the teams in front of us and the teams behind us so it’s very important that we collect some points today. Sometimes when I was watching in the mirrors and I was seeing Roman close to the podium I was like, ‘Come on Roman!’
“As you said, a very close team’s championship and it’s nice to collect some points but it still means nothing because there are a lot of rounds to go.”
Fornaroli later explained that sharing the podium with Stanek was even sweeter as Stanek is not only his teammate, but the pair have known each other for many years.
“It’s very nice to have Roman on the podium as well. We knew each other since three years when we were both racing for Trident. It’s been very helpful to be with him through this year because he has good experience in F2 so I learned a lot about him. He helped me always to improve my mistakes.”
Though pleased with his and his teammate’s performance in the F2 British GP sprint race, Fornaroli shared his lack of hope for the feature race.
“Tomorrow there is the feature race which will be a bit more difficult, especially for me because I will starting from P10. But I will give my best and I’m sure Roman will do the same also.”
Hopes for the Silverstone feature race
The Formula 2 drivers will return to the iconic Silverstone Circuit tomorrow for the feature race. There is a risk of rain on the forecast for the F2 feature race, adding lots of unknowns for all the drivers.
Starting from tenth on the grid, Fornaroli shared his thoughts on the impact this may have on the race. As he is starting so low down, the Italian driver shared how this may give him an advantage with tyre strategy to achieve a strong result.
“It can help us with the strategy to try to gain some position but we will see what will happen tomorrow. In case of rain, of course, we’ll have to change a lot of things in the setup because from dry to rain we have to do quite a lot of changes.”
