After a fluctuating race weekend, Leonardo Fornaroli reflected optimistically on his team’s performance after a backfired Pit Stop strategy at the 2025 Austrian GP.
A rollercoaster in results across the weekend
The Italian driver’s weekend started remarkably strong with a pole position in qualifying. After taking sixth in Free Practice earlier that day, Fornaroli claimed pole in one of the tightest sessions this season. Along with a seat at the front of the starting grid, he also received the title of first repeat pole sitter in the 2025 season. This qualifying victory comes after his first at the Bahrain GP, where he similarly finished in third.
When it came to the Saturday Sprint Race, Fornaroli began in tenth place, with the reverse grid for F2 Sprint Races. This would make for a challenging task to move up the order, especially with competitors like Marti ahead of the pack. Unfortunately, Fornaroli was unable to make up positions and finished in P16.
Going into the Sunday Feature Race, however, the Invicta driver would have had to put the previous day’s result out of mind. Especially, with a start on pole, and competitors such as Martins in second and the current Championship leader, Verschoor, close behind. In the end, Fornaroli came away with a P3 podium finish, marking his fourth in the season.
A pit stop one lap too late
When speaking to media in a post-race press conference, Fornaroli remarked, “I’m quite happy with our performance. Looking at my Prime stint, I lacked some pace compared to Richard and Alex, so there are definitely some things to improve”.
“But I’m happy about my first stint — the good start — remained in the lead and I always had a nice gap to P2.”, he added.
He continued, however, reflecting regretfully on a team decision to pit a lap after a big group of other drivers. “Then I decided to play the long game a bit more, but now looking back, I think it was better to pit one lap earlier, but it’s okay to be P3.”
Fornaroli’s positive outlook persists
“It was a nice fight with Pepe and Victor and experience in the bag.” The driver cut a rather optimistic tone. Though, appreciating a top 3 finish and “experience” gained battling fellow drivers on the track.
Asked to expound on the strategy behind the decision to stay out another lap, the driver shared, “They told me that there was some mess in the pit lane, so I wanted to avoid what happened in Imola, because we all pitted at the same time, I got stuck for a long time and lost like three positions.”
“So I was feeling good. I said ‘Okay, I’m going to go one lap longer,’ but in the end, it was not the right decision, but I’m happy I took it. I wanted to go, I felt good, and it was not the best decision. As I said, experience.”
A small step in redemption and a hopeful demeanour
The 20-year-old displayed a mindful, yet hopeful and forward-facing attitude when comparing his results at the Austrian GP to those of a disappointing Barcelona GP, sharing that he felt it was a good response.
“… I knew I needed to score as many points as possible. Of course, yesterday was very unlucky with the last lap. I really wanted to win, but still, we scored two points on Friday, 15 today. So it’s okay, and we have Silverstone already next week.”
Overall, it was a positive Austrian GP for Fornaroli, who received his fourth podium of the season and a promotion up to fourth in the Championship standings. This weekend at the British GP, he will be looking to collect more points and close the marginal gap to the top three in the Championship.
