Leonardo Fornaroli, having missed out on a Haas F1 2027 seat, has been confirmed by McLaren in its 2027 World Endurance Championship Hypercar line-up.

The reigning Formula 2 champion has also been announced for Mexico and Brazil FP1 outings before that. James Robinson, the young Italian’s former Invicta Racing F2 team boss, is pleased to see that he has “clearly found a home at McLaren”, though Robinson said it would be a “crime against the junior ladder” if a place on the F1 grid continues to allude Fornaroli.

Leonardo Fornaroli backed after F1 2027 setback

In a Haas shoot-out test at Portimao, Fornaroli went up against current Invicta F2 title contender Rafael Camara, as well as Jack Doohan and Ryo Hirakawa with a 2027 race seat up for grabs. It was Camara who got the nod.

While a fresh success for Invicta, Camara to follow Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto in graduating from the team into F1, Robinson insists that Fornaroli also deserved his shot.

After winning the Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles back-to-back, he has spent 2026 as McLaren’s reserve driver, making FP1 appearances in Barcelona and Budapest. He will return to the cockpit in Mexico and Brazil. He also recently completed a sixth test with McLaren, clocking 58 laps around Circuit Paul Ricard.

Asked as part of an exclusive interview with PlanetF1.com, whether the sport is missing out by not having Fornaroli on the F1 2027 grid, Robinson replied: “Yeah, massively.

“I think he is unquestionably the biggest talent not to be racing in F1 right now, and I think it’s a crying shame, honestly, that he’s not going to be in F1 next season.

“That’ll be two years in a row that he’s missed out on a race seat.

“What I would say is that I’m reassured that I don’t think all hope is lost that he can get an F1 seat. McLaren are doubling down in their commitment to him as reserve driver. I think there’ll be a lot of movement in the driver market this time next year, going into 2028. I’d be very surprised if he’s not in those conversations.

“But yeah, I think it’s a real, real shame.

“As I’ve said before, look at the drivers who have won F2 in their rookie season: Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Gabriel Bortoleto and Oscar Piastri. Leo Fornaroli is the fifth member of that group, and all of those other drivers are obviously not just in Formula 1, but with the exception of Gabi Bortoleto, they are established race winners, and possibly [future] world champions.

“So for Leo to potentially not even start a Grand Prix, it would be a bit of a crime against the junior formula ladder, I think.

“If you were trying to build a Formula 1 team, and you were trying to be smart with the way you went about doing it, I think unquestionably Leo Fornaroli would be somebody you would want driving one of your cars.”

Nonetheless, the 21-year-old has an exciting opportunity ahead of him as one of McLaren’s full-time drivers for its World Endurance Championship debut season.

“I’m really happy for Leo that he’s clearly found a home at McLaren,” Robinson added. “If he’s not going to be in F1, then you couldn’t ask for a better team for him to be with.

“McLaren clearly value him, and it’s great to see that they are, as I said, doubling down on their commitment with him. He can now dovetail his work with them with his work in WEC, and he can actually race against other cars and not just have another year doing FP1s and sim work, which I think would be a real detriment for his own personal development.

“So I’m happy for him, and I’m pleased for McLaren that they’ve got a driver that I think is going to bring them a lot in the World Endurance Championship.”

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!