Leonardo Fornaroli’s 2024 FIA Formula 3 (F3) Championship-winning campaign was one of the most unique title runs seen in recent years. The Italian became the first driver to win the FIA F3 Championship without taking a single race victory, instead building his title challenge around consistency at every single round.
Across the 2024 season, Fornaroli secured seven podiums and scored points in 18 out of 20 races, proving himself as one of the most reliable drivers on the grid. He also claimed two pole positions and recorded the most top-10 qualifying results of any driver that year, underlining just how strong he was over a single lap.
The championship battle itself went right down to the wire, with six drivers still mathematically in contention heading into the final round at Monza. In a dramatic final lap showdown, Fornaroli sealed the title in the final corner of the season after overtaking Christian Mansell in a last-gasp move to secure the position he needed to become champion.
But where is the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Champion now? Here’s a look back at his title-winning season and what came next.
Strong start in Bahrain for Fornaroli
Fornaroli started his 2024 FIA Formula 3 season with Trident and immediately placed himself in the championship conversation. Bahrain was more about consistency than headline moments, which ultimately became the defining trait of his campaign.
During the Sprint Race, Fornaroli quickly worked his way through the drivers ahead. After battling closely with Max Esterson for P5, he made the move stick before later overtaking Nikola Tsolov to finish P3.
In the Feature Race, he once again showed strong tyre management and race pace, eventually finishing P7. Leaving the opening round, Fornaroli sat P4 in the championship standings and had already established himself as an early contender.
Round 2 in Melbourne
Round 2 featured one of only two races all season where Fornaroli failed to score points, coming during the Sprint Race around the unforgiving Albert Park circuit.
Fornaroli qualified on pole position with a 1:33.044, putting himself in a strong position heading into the weekend. However, during the Sprint Race, Dino Beganovic made a move on him for P9 at Turn 12, forcing the TRIDENT driver wide onto the gravel and dropping him down to P15.
Despite the setback, Fornaroli bounced back strongly in the Feature Race. Starting from pole, he initially pulled out a gap to Gabriele Minì behind, but Beganovic came charging through from P3 to take the victory. Fornaroli crossed the line in P2, which also saw him leave Melbourne level on points with Luke Browning in the championship standings.
Home race in Imola
Returning to Italy, Fornaroli delivered one of his strongest weekends of the early season in front of his home crowd. He looked quick from the beginning, finishing P4 in Practice before qualifying P2.
The Sprint Race proved difficult, however, as he finished outside the points in P11 and was unable to make significant progress through the field. It marked the second and final time all season that he failed to score points.
In the Feature Race though, Fornaroli returned to form. He stayed firmly in the fight at the front throughout the race and managed the tyres well over the long runs around Imola. While Sami Meguetounif and Oliver Goethe battled for victory late on, Fornaroli stayed consistent and secured another podium finish with P3.
More importantly, he once again collected strong points on a weekend where several championship rivals struggled to maximise their results.
Monaco battles
Monaco became one of the key turning points of Fornaroli’s championship campaign. Around the tight and unforgiving streets, qualifying was crucial, and once again he delivered when it mattered most.
The Sprint Race saw him avoid the chaos that Monaco often produces and collect another valuable points finish, but the Feature Race was where his consistency really stood out.
After multiple interruptions, Safety Cars and a red flag affected the race, Fornaroli kept himself in contention throughout and crossed the line in P2 behind Minì. Another podium finish strengthened his position in the championship and further highlighted how complete his campaign was becoming.
By this point in the season, while other drivers may have had more outright pace or race victories, Fornaroli was proving to be the most consistent driver on the F3 grid, strengthening his title fight in the 2024 season.
Maximising Fornaroli’s consistency in Barcelona
Barcelona was another strong weekend for the Italian, particularly with tyre management becoming a major factor around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Fornaroli once again managed to maximise his results across both races. He remained inside the points throughout the Sprint Race before adding another strong finish in the Feature Race.
Even without a race victory, he continued steadily building points while many of his rivals alternated between winning races and suffering difficult weekends. That consistency was quickly becoming his biggest strength in the title fight.
Chaos in Spielberg
The Red Bull Ring produced one of the most chaotic weekends of the season, with penalties, track limits and constant battles throughout the field.
Once again, Fornaroli avoided major mistakes and capitalised whenever opportunities presented themselves. He added another points finish during the Sprint before producing another composed drive in the Feature Race.
While drivers around him experienced incidents or costly errors, Fornaroli simply kept scoring. Midway through the season, that ability to consistently leave each weekend with points was becoming one of the biggest reasons why he remained firmly in championship contention.
Difficulties at Silverstone
Silverstone was one of the more difficult weekends of Fornaroli’s season, but it also highlighted exactly why he eventually became champion.
Even without having the outright pace to dominate, he still managed to limit the damage and leave the weekend with valuable points. The races featured intense battles throughout the field and constantly changing conditions, but once again the TRIDENT driver stayed calm under pressure.
While drivers like Browning and Minì continued taking victories, Fornaroli continued taking points, and that difference was becoming increasingly important as the championship battle tightened.
Budapest closes the title fight
The Hungaroring suited Fornaroli’s driving style perfectly. Around the tight and technical circuit, tyre management and consistency were crucial, two areas where he excelled throughout the season.
Another strong qualifying performance set him up well for the weekend, and he once again converted that pace into more points across both races. The Feature Race saw him fighting near the front once more, adding another podium finish to his growing tally for the year.
By the end of Budapest, the championship battle had largely narrowed down to Fornaroli, Minì and Browning.
Weather challenges at Spa-Francorchamps
Spa brought unpredictable conditions and plenty of drama, but once again Fornaroli handled the pressure impressively.
Changing weather conditions and interruptions throughout the weekend created opportunities for mistakes, but the Italian continued delivering solid results while several rivals struggled with penalties, incidents or poor strategy calls.
Heading into the final round at Monza, Fornaroli remained right in the middle of an incredibly close 2024 F3 title fight.
The title fight battle in Monza
The final round of the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship delivered one of the most dramatic title deciders in recent junior formula history.
Six drivers still had a mathematical chance of winning the championship heading into Monza, but the fight quickly narrowed towards Fornaroli, Minì and Browning.
Fornaroli strengthened his chances immediately after taking pole position for the Feature Race, putting himself in the perfect position heading into Sunday. The Sprint Race then became all about limiting the damage and maintaining a strong championship position.
The final Feature Race
The Feature Race itself turned chaotic. Slipstream battles constantly shuffled the order around Monza, with the championship lead changing multiple times throughout the race.
At several points, Fornaroli looked set to lose the championship. In the closing stages, Christian Mansell overtook him, temporarily dropping the TRIDENT driver out of the title-winning positions.
But heading into the final corner of the final lap, Fornaroli made the move that ultimately defined his season, reclaiming the place he needed to secure the championship in extraordinary fashion.
Fornaroli’s 2024 F3 Championship was a title won through consistency, composure and delivering under pressure when it mattered most.
His 2025 FIA F2 season
He carried that momentum into 2025 after stepping up to the FIA Formula 2 Championship, where he immediately began changing the narrative surrounding his career.
After much of the discussion during his F3 title season focused on the fact he had never won a race, Fornaroli quickly silenced those conversations in Formula 2 by becoming a race winner and regularly fighting at the front of the field.
Throughout 2025, he combined the consistency that made him FIA Formula 3 Champion with a far more aggressive edge in race-winning situations, eventually securing multiple victories on his way to the 2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship.
In doing so, he became the first Italian driver to win the modern FIA Formula 2 Championship and joined an elite group of drivers to win back-to-back titles across FIA Formula 3 and Formula 2, alongside Oscar Piastri and Gabriel Bortoleto.
Now part of the McLaren Formula 1 Team as a reserve driver, Fornaroli’s rapid rise through the junior ranks has firmly established him as one of the most promising young Italian drivers in world motorsport and a serious future Formula 1 prospect.
