(Motorsport-Total.com) – Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli is completing a Formula 1 test for Haas this week. The 21-year-old Italian will take to the track in Jerez on Wednesday and Thursday in the VF-25 from the 2025 season. Haas reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa is also participating in the test.
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Fornaroli’s test for Haas is remarkable because last year’s Formula 2 champion is actually under contract with McLaren. Just last Friday, he sat in the cockpit of the MCL40 and replaced world champion Lando Norris in the first practice session in Barcelona.
Previously, the Italian had already completed several test drives in the McLaren MCL60 from the 2023 season. A few days after his debut in a current-generation Formula 1 car, another so-called TPC test with an older car now follows.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella praised Fornaroli after his debut at a Grand Prix weekend in Barcelona: “He is by far the most proactive driver when it comes to questioning the engineers.”
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“He walks around with his notebook, takes numerous notes and shares his ideas as soon as he has one,” said Stella, who explained at the weekend: “We want him to drive. He could certainly drive for McLaren Racing in the future.”
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Nevertheless, they are also working “together with Leonardo to explore opportunities in Formula 1,” said Stella. At Haas, at least one more test opportunity has now arisen. Whether more will come of it is not yet foreseeable.
Fornaroli won the Formula 3 title in 2024 and also became Formula 2 champion as a rookie in 2025. However, no cockpit was available for him in Formula 1, which is why he initially joined McLaren as a test and development driver at the end of 2025.
In early 2026, he was also confirmed as a reserve driver for the new Formula 1 season at the Woking-based team.
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