Lando Norris replaced at Barcelona Grand Prix as McLaren F2 talent steps in | F1 | Sport
McLaren have revealed reigning Formula Two champion Leonardo Fornaroli is set to drive Lando Norris’ car for a session at this weekend’s Barcelona Grand Prix. It’s been a season to forget for last season’s world champion Norris, who finds himself 98 points off championship leader Kimi Antonelli after just six races.
It’s looking like his title defence is already in tatters, with McLaren having endured a miserable start to 2026 following the regulation changes. It was back-to-back DNFs for Norris in Monaco, with McLaren principal Zak Brown admitting they’re still way off where they want to be with the car.
The good news for Norris is he won’t have to endure the McLaren motor for the entirety of this weekend’s race in Catalonia, with Fornaroli set to drive the car during a practice session. In a statement, the Italian remarked: “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.
“It’s something I’ve worked towards for a long time and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to take this next step with McLaren Racing.
“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.”
Fornaroli had emulated the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri by winning the Formula Two title in 2025. He joined McLaren’s junior scheme last year, with the 21-year-old having been promoted to reserve driver in the early part of 2026.
He’ll be hoping to take some of the pressure away from Norris, who was frustrated after his latest DNF. The Brit appeared to call out his garage, claiming the recent issues weren’t “good enough”.
He said: “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. We put it back, so I had the problems again, but seemed to have to live with it, and then in the end they just completely went…
“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.”
