In Profile: Leonardo Fornaroli

An Italian driver in an Italian team, Leonardo Fornaroli has gone from strength to strength with Trident so far this season, and it’s about time we got to know him a little bit more.

He details his earliest and favourite racing memories, what he does away from the racetrack and who he admires the most in motorsport.

NAME: Leonardo Fornaroli DATE OF BIRTH: 03/12/2004 NATIONALITY: Italian 2023 TEAM: Trident

FIRST RACING MEMORY

“My first race in karting of course. It was in Jesolo which is a track I really like. It’s a very difficult circuit, a nice track to go there for training because it’s very small so if you go there with a KZ kart, it’s hard to drive and makes for good training.”

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RACING STYLE?

“It’s actually a tough question. For me, I’m quite neutral. Maybe the first time I’m in a new car at a new track, I’m not too aggressive and I’m neutral with that. Once I know the car and track, I think I go a bit more aggressive but not too much because then it becomes a bit more of an issue if you’re too aggressive.”

WHO IS YOUR RACING HERO?

“Right now I would say it is Max Verstappen because he’s basically destroying everyone on the grid but not only because he has the best car on the grid but he’s a monster while he’s driving. He isn’t scared of anything and he has the right mentality to win, I really like that.”

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST RACING ACHIEVEMENT SO FAR?

“The best racing memory I have would be winning the rookie title in FRECA last year. It was very emotional and we worked a lot to make it happen. Compared to maybe my last victory in karting and F4, it means much more because it was very hard and difficult to achieve. I’m proud of that and that is my first memory that comes to mind. For me, it meant a lot to me even if it was only the rookie title and not the overall title. It means a lot because you are the first of the rookie drivers in that year’s Championship. It was hard because last year’s rookies were quite fast. You had My current Trident teammates, Sebastián Montoya, all the drivers were good. I’m very happy I achieved that.”

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WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING A RACING DRIVER?

“For me, it’s driving racing cars. You are driving your dream basically but also you driving on the best circuits in the world, especially in F3. You go all around the world driving very nice cars and living your dream, it’s amazing.”

HOW DO YOU RELAX OUTSIDE OF RACING?

“Finally I graduated from school, I’m finally done with school! I still have to look if I want to do university alongside racing which would be very tough but we’ll see. When I’m far from racing I’m trying to train as much as possible to stay ready but other than that, I’m spending time with family, friends and trying not to think about work and to relax.”

DO YOU HAVE A SECRET TALENT?

“No! I can’t play piano for example, can’t do a Rubik’s Cube.”

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TRACK ON THE F3 CALENDAR?

“I think Silverstone is one of the best but I don’t have a favourite to be honest. For example, I really like Bahrain, Monaco, Silverstone, Spa, I don’t really have one favourite though. If I had to pick one that I really enjoyed, I’d pick Melbourne. It was my first time in Australia and the track was amazing for me. I prefer tracks with high-speed corners that are hard to get right. You have to concentrate so much and do it as best as possible. Corners with elevation changes and banking, Zandvoort for instance.”