Calmness and consistency: the keys to Leonardo Fornaroli’s 2024 Formula 3 triumph
- Diana Badea
- Sep 5, 2024
- 3 min read
The 2024 F3 championship has been highly competitive all season, along with multiple drivers fighting for the title, but in the end, it was Leonardo Fornaroli who came out triumphant above all.
The 2024 Formula 3 season was impressive and spectacular to say the least, with fierce battles and different strategies that changed the whole dynamic of the Championship. Going into the final race of the F3 season, in Monza, six drivers were vying for the championship: Leonardo Fornaroli, Gabriele Mini, Luke Browning, Arvid Lindblad, Dino Beganovic and Christian Mansell. However, as the Monza weekend unfolded, it came to light that the fight for the title was disputed between Fornaroli, Mini and Browning. Here their abilities came into play, devotion and willingness to risk it all.
Emerging as the 2024 Formula 3 Champion was Leonardo Fornaroli, whose season could be summed up in one word: ”consistency”. Although Fornaroli hasn't won any races nor has he ever retired, he has scored a persistent haul of points every weekend. Throughout the season, he has secured two pole positions and achieved seven podium finishes. He only missed out on scoring points in two sprint races throughout the whole year… Impressive, right?
The rise of a new talent
After a rather frustrating rookie season, full of highs and lows and valuable lessons, Leo was ready to collaborate again alongside Trident in order to make a “step forward” and be at the top of the field. From the beginning of the year it was clear that the partnership between Fornaroli and Trident was going to create real challenges for the others.
The zenith of his campaign was surely Monza. Leo’s mentality and surreal calmness helped him have everything under control throughout the finale. Coming first (in the drivers’ standings) into the race weekend boosted his confidence significantly. Leo began the weekend on a high and took the pole position on Friday. Not much has changed in the standings on Saturday, but the Italian managed to salvage some points after a tricky Sprint. The feature race was where things began to heat up in the Championship; with Luke Browning spinning early in the race, Arvid Lindblad struggling to find momentum and Fornaroli and Mini giving their everything at the top of the field. After a few mistakes and various fights between the pair (Mini and Fornaroli), Mini secured second place, whilst his rival had to settle for fourth. For the majority of the race it appeared that Mini was in the position to clinch the title, but all that Leo needed was to stand on that podium next to Mini. When we were least expecting it, Leo pulled out an outstanding move on Mansell in the final corner of the race to secure third place. This was the move that saw him taking the title away from his countryman.
Securing the F3 title in front of his home crowd and making history as the first Italian to do so was an extraordinary moment: ”it’s amazing and I can’t believe I did it [...] It’s one of the best days of my life.”
A steady start to the season gave Leo enough confidence to build momentum, alongside his team, Trident. Trident's decision to re-sign the Italian driver for the season reflected their strategic approach (having an experienced driver in the team in order to maximize the results and to nail the car set-up). Given their previous collaborations in F3 during 2023 and FRECA in 2022, they understood that if they could offer a reliable car, the Italian would be a strong contender for the championship title. Their partnership for this season was based on progression and commitment and by the end of Fornaroli's campaign, the team had become like "a second family" to him, playing a crucial role in helping him reach his full potential and improve his race pace.
This season further solidified Leonardo’ status as a promising talent, likely to move up to higher levels of racing in the near future. He is not currently backed-up by any Formula 1 team, but he definitely caught a lot of attention last weekend. We cannot wait to see what the future holds for him.
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