Official: Fornaroli will be McLaren reserve driver in 2026 alongside Pato O’Ward

McLaren has made its driver pool official McLaren has defined the roles of the drivers included in the youth program, a pool that includes 9 drivers: Christian Costoya, Matteo De Palo, Leonardo Fornaroli, Ella Häkkinen, Ella Lloyd, Pato O’Ward, Ella Stevens, Dries Van Langendonck and Richard Verschoor. Leornardo Fornaroli and Pato O’Ward will be the reserve drivers, in short, those appointed to fill in in the event of withdrawal by the owners Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri. Leonardo Fornaroli is ahead of the Mexican in this respect because he does not have a ‘parallel’ racing program and will always be on track together with the Woking team throughout 2026. “I am thrilled to take on such an important role as reserve driver as part of the McLaren Driver Development Program – said Fornaroli – it is a notable step forward in my journey and I can’t wait to contribute to the success of such a successful team. I owe a big thank you to Zak, Andrea and Alessandro for this opportunity”. “We have selected a group of nine incredibly talented drivers, demonstrating the solidity of our academy – declared Alessandro Alunni Bravi – we are all curious to see their progress this season with the knowledge that we are training them for numerous championships such as F1, IndyCar and WEC. It is fantastic to have Leonardo Fornaroli with us as a reserve driver”.