Leonardo Fornaroli, reserve driver for the McLaren team, is scheduled to drive the MCL40 car during the Free Practice 1 (FP1) sessions at the Mexico and São Paulo Grands Prix this season.
The young Italian, 2024 Formula 3 champion and 2025 Formula 2 champion, has already made two FP1 appearances this year at the Barcelona-Catalunya and Hungarian Grands Prix, completing the four mandatory rookie sessions for 2026.
To prepare for these outings, Fornaroli participated in a testing session at Circuit Paul Ricard in France, where he covered nearly 350 kilometers behind the wheel of the McLaren MCL39, the double 2025 championship-winning car. This sixth testing session with McLaren allowed the driver to focus on long runs simulating FP1 conditions and to experiment with different setups.
Jake Hughes, McLaren’s test and development driver, also drove the MCL39 at Paul Ricard, continuing his reference work for simulator development.
Fornaroli expressed enthusiasm about returning to the MCL40 for these final two FP1 sessions, highlighting that the Mexico and Interlagos circuits present significant challenges, notably due to altitude and the technical nature of the corners. He thanked the McLaren team for these opportunities and the ongoing support of the driver development program.
Additionally, McLaren announced that Fornaroli will join their new Hypercar team in the World Endurance Championship in 2027, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, while retaining his role as reserve driver in Formula 1.