Leonardo Fornaroli dominated the F2 Sprint Race at Spa-Francorchamps. He started from third and quickly moved into the lead. The Invicta Racing driver held off challenges and safety car interruptions. He won by nearly two seconds over Victor Martins. Fornaroli set the fastest lap and climbed to third in the F2 Drivers’ Championship. His strong performance solidified his place at the front, making it an impressive victory at Spa-Francorchamps.
Tire management crucial to win the second consecutive F2 Sprint Race
Fornaroli was thrilled with his second straight F2 Sprint Race win in Spa. After winning in Silverstone, he got off to a strong start in Spa and quickly took the lead. During the Safety Car period, he focused on managing his pace. He kept a gap to prevent Cordeel from using DRS. After defending at key points, he noticed his lead growing. Tire management was crucial, especially with the high temperatures. When the safety car came out, he stayed out while many pitted. He trusted his tire choice and stayed calm. Despite pressure from Martins, he pushed after the restart and secured the win.
“Yeah, I’m very happy. We managed to have a very good start and took the lead into T1. Then we straight away with the Safety Car and then the restart. I was just managing and controlling behind to be able to have a gap and to [not] allow the DRS to Cordeel. He tried to attack me one time in T5, but I managed to defend. And then I saw I was pulling away so I started to manage a lot of the tires. Because I know here the bag and the overheating is quite high and everything was very sensitive.”
“But then, you know, with the gap behind I was quite calm then with the safety car I saw that a lot of cars pitted for an option. My engineer asked me do you want a pit when I was in the bus stop, so I was very on the limit, I really didn’t know what to do but still, I was feeling good with the tires, so I decided to stay out. Lots of cars pitted, we were in T5 only with Prime and all the rest was an option. So I know it was going to be really difficult also because the circuit is very long, so there are lots of corners to recover us.”
“Also I had Victor behind which has a lot of experience, and he’s very quick, so I know it was not going to be easy. But I felt super good with the car and like Silverstone I managed to be quick at the start but without destroying the tires so after the Safety Car start I was able to push and improve my lap times and like this we managed to stay in front and do the win, so I’m very happy again about this one.”
A solid start in Spa helped Fornaroli to win the F2 Sprint race in Spa
Fornaroli was pleased with his strong start in Spa, which helped him gain an advantage early in the F2 Sprint race. He aimed to overtake one or two cars at Turn 1. And with his practice starts going well, he executed his plan perfectly.
Looking ahead to the championship, Fornaroli acknowledged that being just eight points off the lead was promising. But still meant little given the many races remaining. With the unpredictable weather forecast for the next day. He knew the challenge wouldn’t be easy, but he was determined to give it his best effort.
“Yes, it was my goal to overtake one or two cars in T1. All the practice starts were good yesterday. So I knew we had great potential, so yeah I’m happy it went very well this time.”
“Well it’s gonna be hard now, eight points to P1 in the championship means nothing still. Because we have many rounds to go, and also because tomorrow everything can happen. Also looks like it’s gonna rain a lot so it’s not gonna be easy, but I will try my best.”
Worries for Fornaroli before winning the F2 Sprint race in Spa
Fornaroli faced a moment of doubt after the pit stops when his engineer mentioned that the strategy could get tricky. Unsure if staying out on his tires was the right decision. He focused on managing them carefully and staying alert to the gap behind him.
As the safety car restart approached, his engineer reassured him that the cars behind were still too far to pose a serious threat. Confident in his tire management, Fornaroli pushed hard when needed. Hoping the drivers behind would fight each other and give him more space. His strategy paid off, and he was able to maintain a solid lead. Crossing the line with a comfortable margin to take the win.
“Yes, I was very worried. Because I didn’t like that we’re gonna be very quick or not. But when he told me you’re only in five in front with the Prime. I said okay it’s gonna be hard, but then also when they had a safety car restart he told me that they were still a bit far from us. So I didn’t want to wait too much. And in fact I took it a bit on the restart and the Victor [Martins] was in my gearbox.”
“But no, luckily before the Safety Car I was still in very good condition with the tires. Because I was, I managed to manage them quite well, so in the restart I felt very good. In all the next four laps the pace was very strong also. I was hoping that they were gonna fight with the guys behind me, so I was able to take a bit more gap. But no, luckily it went well because at the start I was very worried.”
Preparation ahead of Spa to identify earlier mistakes
Fornaroli dedicated significant time working with his engineer to improve his race starts. They analysed previous mistakes and identified areas for improvement. Over the two weeks before the F2 Sprint race in Spa, Fornaroli also used the simulator to practice. Refining his technique despite the limitations of virtual conditions.
On race day, the formation lap didn’t go as planned due to cold tires. But he worked to warm up the rear tires as best as possible. When the lights went out, his hard work paid off. He had a flawless launch, with no wheel spin, and he managed both the clutch and throttle perfectly. This allowed him to get a strong jump off the line and put himself in a great position early in the race.
“I spent a lot of time with my engineer to check all the stuff that were wrong. So also during these two weeks I tried to work a bit on it on the simulator. Even if it’s not super similar as real life. Yesterday we already improved on that, so was looking forward for the start today. You never know what to expect.”
“The one for the formation lap wasn’t very good, but our tires are always cold. So try to warm up the rear, especially as good as I can. And luckily, we had a very good launch with no wheel spin. So I was able to manage both clutch very good and the throttle position as well.”
