Fornaroli wins for the first time in four years with F2 sprint win in Silverstone

Written by Vyas Ponnuri

Leonardo Fornaroli grabbed his first Formula 2 win in 2025, and his first in over four years of junior racing, as he controlled the sprint ever since he made an overtake on Kush Maini on lap one, ahead of PREMA Racing's Sebastián Montoya and teammate Roman Staněk.

Fornaroli took his first race win in four years | Credit: Formula 2 via X

Fornaroli managed to grab the lead back, having lost it off the line to Maini's DAMS off the start lights. Having moved past on the old pit straight and into Copse corner, Fornaroli remained unthreatened in his charge for victory.

Behind the podium, Maini finished fourth on the road, losing out on a podium on the penultimate lap of the 21-lap sprint. AIX Racing's Joshua Dürksen finished fifth, only one millisecond ahead of Maini's teammate Jak Crawford in sixth.

Elsewhere, Luke Browning took home two points in seventh, ahead of championship leader Richard Verschoor in eighth with the final point, ahead of ART Grand Prix's Victor Martins and Arvid Lindblad, who rounded out the top ten.

AS IT UNFOLDED - Fornaroli stamps his authority in Silverstone

After a tricky qualifying session on Friday, Invicta Racing's Leonardo Fornaroli started the 21-lap sprint from the front, ahead of DAMS' Kush Maini and Hitech TGR's Dino Beganovic.

There was drama for the Swede even as the drivers began to set off on their formation laps, as his Hitech TGR moved only a few metres before coming to a halt. Marshalls then swiftly pushed Beganovic into the pit lane, in an attempt to get the car started and keep him in the hunt.

Off the five red lights, Maini managed to get the better start from the front row, jumping past Fornaroli into turn 1. Meanwhile, a slow start from Richard Verschoor's MP Motorsport promoted PREMA Racing's Sebastián Montoya and Fornaroli's teammate Roman Staněk up into the top four.

Fornaroli, though, aimed to get past Maini heading into Brooklands corner, as the leading duo remained side by side, with Maini just fending off the Italian.

However, a tentative moment into the ensuing Luffield corner for the Indian, coupled with an aggressive manoeuvre onto the kerbs by Fornaroli saw both drivers alongside. The Invicta man eventually took the race lead, with Maini fending off Montoya for second instead.

Verschoor, meanwhile, had dropped down to tenth, sitting just ahead of his closest championship rival Alex Dunne. Maini, meanwhile, had set the fastest lap of the race on lap 5, narrowing the gap to under one second to Fornaroli ahead.

The battle of the Brits ensued, with Arvid Lindblad and Luke Browning scrapping over the final point in eighth. After a tussle into the Vale chicane, the Williams junior slipped ahead into The Loop, moving into the points.

Dunne's race came apart on Lap 8, following a lock up heading into Village corner. Having taken a wider line in as a result of his tyre locking up, PREMA Racing's Gabriele Minì attempted to go around the outside into The Loop.

The Irishman's fierce defence of position would result in contact, with Minì's front wing clipping the rear right tyre on Dunne's Rodin Motorsport. The resultant contact punctured Dunne's tyre, forcing him to limp back to the pits. Dunne even lost his rear right tyre into the Maggots-Becketts-Chapel section, returning to the pits, and emerging a lap down on the rest.

Minì then copped a ten-second penalty for his collision, while Maini running into the debris on the racing line triggered a yellow flag, as marshalls quickly picked up the debris stuck on the circuit.

The biggest change within the top half saw Montoya move ahead of Maini for second on lap 15, as he attempted to close down Fornaroli for the race lead. The DAMS man, now potentially facing worn tyres, sternly fended Staněk heading into Stowe and the Vale chicane, nearly opening up an opportunity for Joshua Dürksen to move by into fourth.

A battle further back saw Pepe Martí run extremely wide into Copse corner, falling to the rear of a queue of Red Bull juniors surrounding Minì's PREMA Racing car.

Elsewhere, Maini's firm defence of third invited a long train of over seven cars scrapping away for the rest of the points positions. Staněk's attempts to get past were in vain, as the Indian kept fending off attempts.

However, the Czech driver would eventually make his way past on the penultimate lap, getting alongside the Indian off Stowe corner. Although he drifted onto the run off to make his move, the stewards ruled the move in Staněk's favour, giving him a podium finish.

Further drama on the final lap saw Browning and Martins make contact off Luffield corner, allowing Verschoor back into the points in eighth. Meanwhile, a spin for Ollie Goethe at Club corner cost him time, capping off a torrid day for the Red Bull junior.

Although, none of the incidents behind could stop Fornaroli, as he homed in on the chequered flag, winning a race for the first time since his Italian F4 season back in 2021.

Montoya finished only over a second back from the Italian, while Staněk made it a double Invicta podium in Silverstone, capping off a brilliant day for the team in yellow.

Official Results - F2 Sprint (Silverstone)

1. Leonardo Fornaroli (Invicta Racing)

2. Sebastián Montoya (PREMA Racing)

3. Roman Staněk (Invicta Racing)

4. Kush Maini (DAMS)

5. Joshua Dürksen (AIX Racing)

6. Jak Crawford (DAMS)

7. Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport)

8. Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix)

9. Arvid Lindblad (Campos Racing)

10. Pepe Martí (Campos Racing)

11. Ollie Goethe (MP Motorsport)

12. Luke Browning (Hitech TGR)*

13. Sami Meguetounif (Trident)

14. Gabriele Minì (PREMA Racing)

15. John Bennett (Van Amersfoort Racing)

16. Rafael Villagómez (Van Amersfoort Racing)

17. Cian Shields (AIX Racing)

18. Dino Beganovic (Hitech TGR)

19. Amaury Cordeel (Rodin Motorsport)

20. Ritomo Miyata (ART Grand Prix)

21. Max Esterson (Trident)

22. Alex Dunne (Rodin Motorsport) - DNF
    

    * - Browning received a ten second penalty for his collision with Victor Martins on the last lap