Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli grabbed back-to-back Sprint race victories in F2, inching closer to championship leader Richard Verschoor.
After a three-week interval, F2 returned to the high-speed, unforgiving circuit of Spa-Franchchamps for the ninth round of the 2025 season. Last time out in Silverstone, both Fornaroli and Jak Crawford secured victories, bridging the gap to Verschoor in the championship battle. As the drivers headed out onto the dry circuit in Belgium, Fornaroli repeated his Sprint victory, closing the gap down to just eight points.
A game of tyre management chess
The Italian qualified in seventh on Friday afternoon, meaning for the Sprint race, he started third.
Some big names featured at the back of the grid for the Sprint race, including both Verschoor and Crawford, Fornaroli used this starting position to his advantage, perfectly catching both Oliver Goethe and Amaury Cordeel off guard heading into Turn 1’s infamous La Source.
The move effectively secured Fornaroli’s second victory in F2, after a chess game of preserving tyres worked in his favour.
“I had Victor behind, he has a lot of experience and he is very quick. I knew it was not going to be easy, but I felt super good with the car. Like Silverstone, I managed to be quick at the start but without destroying the tyres.” Fornaroli said in the post-Sprint conference, reflecting on his race.
“We managed to stay in front and take the win, so I am very happy again with this one.”
Championship battle far from over
With the victory, Fornaroli jumped up to third in the standings, one point behind DAMS’ Crawford and eight points behind Vershoor. Talking about the tightness of the championship, Fornaroli gave a stark reminder that there is still five rounds left of the season and ‘anything can happen’;
“It’s going to be hard now, eight points to P1 in the Championship means nothing still because we have many rounds to go. Also because tomorrow anything can happen. It looks like it is going to rain a lot, it’s not going to be easy, but I will try my best.”
Victor Martins, in second, echoed Fornaroli’s expectations about the rain. But is looking to clinch a strong result as he starts with an advantage in fourth position:
“For sure 100% I think the pace is normally good in the wet, we were just struggling with something in Silverstone that we are not happy with, but we know exactly what to do in the wet. If it’s wet, I am prepared, and the team is prepared. And in the dry I think we have a good race to analyse and get some feedback on. I feel we are in for the same or even more.”
Alex Dunne starts on pole position for Sunday’s intense 25-lap Feature Race around the 4.352-mile-long circuit.
Featured image credit: Formula Motorsport Ltd