McLaren Confirms Fornaroli for Hypercar Program

McLaren has announced that its Formula 1 reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli will be part of its Hypercar lineup for the 2027 FIA World Endurance Championship season.

The British manufacturer revealed the news on Monday after the 6 Hours of Barcelona, and just days on from confirmation that Alex Lynn will join the squad.

Fornaroli, the 2025 FIA Formula 2 champion, joins Lynn, Laurens Vanthoor and Mikkel Jensen as a confirmed McLaren WEC driver, having been named a reserve driver for the Woking outfit in Formula 1 towards the end of last year.

Alongside his Hypercar duties, the 21-year-old Italian driver will also continue to serve as McLaren’s F1 reserve in 2027.

“Joining the McLaren Hypercar Team is an incredibly exciting next step in my career and I’m grateful that my role as McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 reserve driver has opened up this incredible opportunity,” commented Fornaroli.

“I’m delighted to be continuing in that role next year while also taking on this new challenge.

“To represent McLaren in the FIA World Endurance Championship and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a huge honor, and I am ready to give everything as we take on this new challenge together.

“I’d like to thank the McLaren Driver Development Programme for supporting me throughout my journey and for giving me the opportunity to develop my skills on such a competitive and prestigious stage.”

McLaren Hypercar team principal James Barclay said that Fornaroli’s achievements in single-seaters, including the 2024 FIA Formula 3 title before he won the F2 title the next year, marked him out as an exciting prospect.

Earlier this year, Fornaroli auditioned for a F1 seat with Haas, for which Toyota WEC regular Ryo Hirakawa was also in contention, but was ultimately not selected as the American outfit instead opted to sign current F2 racer Rafael Camara.

“Leo is an exceptional talent: winning Formula 3 is a significant achievement, but to follow that by winning Formula 2 as a rookie underlines his natural talent and one of the most exciting drivers in motorsport,” said Barclay.

“His speed, consistency and maturity at such a young age helped him achieve a huge amount in the junior categories and those same attributes make him an exciting addition to our McLaren Hypercar Team.

“We have a great driver lineup forming, which blends experienced sports car drivers and now young talent for our debut season.

“I worked with Leo briefly in my previous role [at Jaguar Formula E] and his approach and performance impressed me very much, we both look forward to taking on McLaren’s debut season in the World Endurance Championship together.”

Monday’s news leaves McLaren officially with two seats to fill, which are expected to go to current Peugeot driver Malthe Jakobsen and Gregoire Saucy.