Leonardo Fornaroli has secured the Formula 2 title after Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad was cleared of a possible safety car infringement in Qatar.
Polesitter Fornaroli finished second for Invicta Racing in the Qatar F2 feature race, securing 18 points plus two for pole. That result put him on a tally of 211 points, enough to secure the title over rivals Jak Crawford and Richard Verschoor (both leaving Qatar on 170 points) and Luke Browning (162 points).
It marks back-to-back F2 and Formula 3 championships for Fornaroli.
However, he was made to wait for his coronation due to a post-race investigation of fourth-place finisher Arvid Lindblad, who was alleged to have driven too slowly under the safety car. A time penalty could have promoted Verschoor up the order from sixth to fifth in the feature race - thus putting him 39 points behind Fornaroli heading into the Abu Dhabi season finale.
Verschoor - who won the sprint race on Saturday - would have needed to score maximum points over the Abu Dhabi weekend to secure the championship on countback - with a hypothetical five wins over Fornaroli’s four.
However, Lindblad was cleared and Fornaroli therefore clinched the title.
The Italian joins Oscar Piastri, George Russell, Charles Leclerc and Gabriel Bortoleto in the ranks of drivers who have won the F3 and F2 championships back to back.
What Fornaroli said
“I didn’t have many expectations because it was a new car and my first time working with an English team, so it was a bit scary. But their mentality since day one...I understood I made the right choice to go with them,” said Fornaroli of his Invicta squad.
“Every day, they were able to make me feel at home. We had so much fun over the season,” he added, calling the title a “massive relief”.
Invicta holds the advantage in the chase for its second teams’ championship, leading Hitech by 35 points.
Fornaroli, meanwhile, is not associated with an F1 team. He said that news on his future will emerge soon.
“I have an idea of what’s happening with my future. My focus still remains on the last round of F2 in the meantime. My manager and management are doing an amazing job, and I'm very confident for what's next. And I hope you will be able to see what will happen in few weeks’ time.”
How the decisive Qatar race unfolded
Fornaroli took pole position but his car went into anti-stall on the formation lap for the feature race.
He lost the lead to ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins at the start - admitting later that fears of anti-stall kicking in again made him more cautious.
Starting on soft tyres, Fornaroli held station and pitted with the surrounding pack on lap six of 32.
The safety car was deployed on lap 15 for Oliver Goethe’s stopped MP Motorsport, which prompted Lindblad to pit - eventually proving advantageous and promoting him from 17th on the grid to fourth at the chequered flag.
Hitech’s drivers were on the opposite strategy, with Dino Beganovic the lead car and team-mate Luke Browning behind, after the first pit window had closed. Neither pitted under the safety car and finished ninth and 10th, respectively
DAMS driver and Aston Martin F1 junior Crawford failed to score points in 11th.
