McLaren have announced that reigning Formula Two champion Leonardo Fornaroli will take over Lando Norris's car for a practice session at this weekend's Barcelona Grand Prix. The 21-year-old Italian, who joined McLaren's junior programme last year and was promoted to reserve driver in early 2026, will drive the MCL40 during Free Practice 1 on Friday.
Norris's Difficult Season Continues
Lando Norris, the reigning world champion, has endured a miserable start to the 2026 season. After just six races, he trails championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 98 points. Back-to-back retirements in Monaco have compounded McLaren's struggles following regulation changes. Team principal Zak Brown admitted the team is still far from where they want to be with the car.
Fornaroli's Ambitions
Fornaroli, who emulated drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc by winning the F2 title in 2025, expressed his excitement: "I'm looking forward to getting to drive the MCL40 this weekend in Spain for Free Practice 1. It's a great opportunity to support the team with their preparations and work through the planned Friday programme. It's also a very special milestone for me personally as it will be my first official Formula 1 session."
He added: "The experience I've gained so far this year through the multiple Testing of Previous Cars events I've successfully completed has been so valuable for my development and overall learning of driving a Formula 1 car. Thank you to Zak, Andrea and Alessandro for their continued support and I can't wait to get in the car on Friday."
Norris Frustrated by Reliability Issues
Norris, frustrated after his latest DNF, appeared to criticise his garage, stating the recent issues were "not good enough." He explained: "There were some issues at the beginning, and then more in the middle, and I don't know if they're related or not, but I just got told to retire the car, so not a lot I can do nowadays. It was just a lot of stuff, like I could hear from the engine, the turbo, the battery, a lot of things that don't sound correct. We tried to fix it, it made the problem worse."
He continued: "It seems like every weekend we have something, but it's not just McLaren, it's Mercedes as well – and between HPP [Mercedes High Performance Powertrains] and McLaren, we have to do a better job, because it's just not good enough."
