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O’Ward returns as McLaren F1 reserve, alongside F2 champ Fornaroli
McLaren has announced its reserve drivers for the 2026 Formula 1 season, with Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli joining the McLaren IndyCar racer Pato O’Ward in the role.
Fornaroli was only announced as part of the McLaren Driver Development Program at the end of last year, with his signing being confirmed after he secured the F2 title – his second consecutive junior championship. The Italian gives McLaren another full-time reserve option alongside O’Ward, who has fulfilled the position over the past two seasons.
“I am excited to continue in my role as reserve driver for the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 team, alongside my primary duties in the NTT IndyCar Series with Arrow McLaren,” O’Ward said. “I’ve learned an incredible amount testing and driving F1 cars over the past few years, so I am looking forward to this continued growth and development.”
Italian Leonardo Fornaroli celebrates securing the F2 championship at Qatar last November. Jayce Illman/Getty Images
In 2025, McLaren could also call upon Valtteri Bottas if required as the Finn was a reserve option for Mercedes, but with Bottas now racing for Cadillac this year, it has added Fornaroli to its reserve roster.
“I’m thrilled to be stepping into an extended role with the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 team as reserve driver as part of the McLaren Driver Development Program,” Fornaroli said. “It’s an exciting next step in my journey, and I’m looking forward to contributing to such a successful, championship-winning team this season. A big thank you to Zak [Brown], Andrea [Stella] and Alessandro [Alunni Bravi] for this opportunity.”
The pair are also part of the driver development program that features another seven drivers, with the most experienced member Richard Verschoor switching from F2 to LMP2 ahead of McLaren’s World Endurance Championship debut in 2027. Alongside those three are junior drivers Matteo De Palo in F3, Ella Lloyd and Ella Stevens in F1 Academy, Dries Van Langendonck and Christian Costoya in F4, and Ella Hakkinen who will undergo a single-seater testing program.
“The team are pleased to confirm its Driver Development Program line-up alongside their racing and testing programs for 2026,” chief business affairs officer Alunni Bravi said. “Within this, it’s great for Leonardo to step up into the reserve driver role for the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 team as part of his development with us, with Pato O’Ward also continuing in this role.
“We have selected an incredibly talented group of nine drivers, which shows the health of our talent pipeline. We are all excited to see their development this season as we create professional drivers across all aspects of racing, progressing towards Formula 1, IndyCar and the team’s upcoming World Endurance Championship entry.”
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
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