McLaren Racing has confirmed that Leonardo Fornaroli, the reigning FIA Formula 2 champion and the team's Formula 1 reserve driver, will race for its new Hypercar outfit when it enters the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2027. The Italian becomes the latest addition to a growing driver roster as McLaren builds toward a return to the top flight of endurance racing, three decades after its famous Le Mans triumph with the F1 GTR.
A Return Three Decades in the Making
McLaren announced its intention to step up to WEC's premier Hypercar class eighteen months ago, a move framed around recapturing the glory of 1995, when the British marque won the 24 Hours of Le Mans outright on its very first attempt with the F1 GTR. That result remains one of the sport's great fairy tales, and McLaren's new project carries the weight of that legacy as it prepares to go wheel-to-wheel with established manufacturers in sportscar racing's toughest category.
Since confirming the programme, McLaren has pushed ahead with development of its MCL-HY challenger, accumulating testing mileage at various circuits. The team even brought in 2025 Formula 1 World Champion Lando Norris for a recent outing at Portimão, underlining the crossover interest between its grand prix operation and its endurance ambitions.
Fornaroli's Rapid Rise
At just 21, Fornaroli has built one of the most eye-catching résumés in junior single-seater racing. He claimed back-to-back FIA Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles in 2024 and 2025, a double achieved by only a handful of drivers in the sport's history. That run of form earned him a place on the McLaren Driver Development Programme, through which he has already contributed to the team's Formula 1 operation this season as reserve driver.
His move to sportscars gives McLaren a driver combining rookie-level F2 title pedigree with direct ties to the main F1 team - a profile the squad clearly values as it assembles a line-up blending youth and experience.
Line-Up Taking Shape
Fornaroli joins a roster that already includes Mikkel Jensen, 2024 FIA World Endurance champion Laurens Vanthoor, and Alex Lynn, taking McLaren's six-driver Hypercar squad to two-thirds complete. Speaking about the signing, Fornaroli called it "an incredibly exciting next step" in his career, adding that representing McLaren at Le Mans is "a huge honour" and crediting the Driver Development Programme for the opportunity.
Team Principal James Barclay praised Fornaroli's trajectory, noting that winning Formula 2 as a rookie, having already claimed Formula 3, underlines his ability as "one of the most exciting drivers in motorsport." Barclay said the team is building a line-up that blends experienced sportscar talent with rising prospects ahead of its 2027 WEC debut.
- McLaren enters WEC's Hypercar class in 2027, its first top-level endurance campaign since the 1995 Le Mans-winning F1 GTR era.
- Leonardo Fornaroli: 2024 FIA Formula 3 champion, 2025 FIA Formula 2 champion, and current McLaren F1 reserve driver.
- Confirmed Hypercar line-up so far: Mikkel Jensen, Laurens Vanthoor, Alex Lynn and now Fornaroli.
- McLaren has been testing its MCL-HY car, including a recent session at Portimão involving Lando Norris.
