Leonardo Fornaroli champion: who is the new king of Formula 2
Italy again protagonist in the world of four wheels. Ranking second in the category Grand Prix of Qatar, Leonardo Fornaroli is in fact officially the world champion of Formula 2. An absolutely historic result for the Boot, since before the talent from Piacenza only two other tricolor drivers had managed to achieve the feat. These were Giorgio Pantano and Davide Valsecchi, back in 2008 and 2012. But the numbers of the newly crowned driver give hope to the movement that it has found a new prodigy, after that Kimi Antonelli, who in his first season in Formula 1 has already won podiums and fast laps at the wheel of the Mercedes.
Piacentine born in 2004, Fornaroli is actually more “old” than Antonelli (who was born in 2006), but he has made a name for himself in recent seasons with a thrilling’rise. Suffice it to say that his debut in Formula 3 was just in 2023, and already in the following season came the title with the Trident team. The move to Formula 2 dates back to the’last round of last season, which means that 2025 was his first full championship contested in the cadet class of world motorsport. Well: that was enough to give the title to himself and the Invicta Racing team.
An immense satisfaction for him and a breath of fresh air for Italian four-wheel fans, in a season that in Formula 1 proved extremely disappointing for Ferrari. On the one hand, the SF-25 has yet to prove capable of giving even one victory to Charles Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand the Englishman has not even managed to collect a podium. An unprecedented roster in his entire career. Precisely in Qatar, where Fornaroli was crowned champion, the Reds touched a new point of no return on a Friday and Saturday in which between Sprint Race and qualifying they were divided between the middle and the bottom of the grid.
If nothing else in 2025 Maranello could celebrate winning the WEC world championship and a third consecutive Le Mans 24 Hours victory. There is no shortage of reasons to smile, then, in the Ferrari household and more generally among the motor enthusiasts scattered across the Belpaese. And who knows that even in Formula 1 there may soon be a new great Italian protagonist to join Kimi Antonelli. His name is Leonardo Fornaroli: the champion who in just two years has burned through every possible stage. And who now just misses confronting the queen class of four wheels, Formula 1.
