Motorsport Week is reporting that reigning Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli completed his second Formula 1 test with McLaren at Silverstone, logging 68 laps in the MCL60 across a full day of running.
The 21-year-old Italian covered 393 kilometres during Tuesday's session — 16 more laps than F1 drivers completed during last year's British Grand Prix race. Fornaroli described the experience as "amazing" and noted significant improvements from his debut F1 test at Barcelona earlier this year.
"With it being my second test, the run plan was more advanced, so I got to try some different setups and run with different levels of fuel, which continues to support my understanding of driving a Formula 1 car," Fornaroli told Motorsport Week.
The Silverstone test represented a step up in complexity from his Barcelona debut. McLaren's program focused on longer runs with varying fuel loads and work across different tyre compounds, giving Fornaroli exposure to race-simulation scenarios rather than just basic familiarisation.
Fornaroli's rapid progression highlights McLaren's structured approach to developing F2 champions who achieved success without traditional F1 academy backing. The Italian won both F3 and F2 titles back-to-back, following the same path as Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and Oscar Piastri before securing his McLaren reserve driver role.
Beyond test days, Fornaroli has been embedded within McLaren's operations at their Woking headquarters and attended the Japanese Grand Prix to fulfil his reserve driver duties. Multiple sources confirm this represents a new model for how F2 champions transition to F1 testing opportunities.
McLaren confirmed Fornaroli will participate in several more tests this season as part of the team's Testing of Previous Cars program. The team also indicated he could potentially make his FP1 debut later this season during McLaren's mandatory rookie Free Practice sessions.
Source: Motorsport Week