McLaren junior Leonardo Fornaroli will get his second opportunity of 2026 to take part in a grand prix weekend, deputising for Oscar Piastri in FP1 at the Hungaroring.
The highly-rated Italian, who is the reigning F2 champion, took over Lando Norris’ MCL40 in Barcelona last month, and will now get his second practice outing with the squad at this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, taking over Piastri’s seat.
It’s a key weekend for both Fornaroli and McLaren as the squad is bringing a significant batch of upgrades to Budapest in a bid to make further inroads on Mercedes, while Ferrari’s SF-26 has also proved a faster car than the McLaren in the corners.
McLaren has been extremely impressed by Fornaroli, with team principal Andrea Stella confirmed in recent weeks that the Woking squad is looking at opportunities for the 21-year-old elsewhere on the grid. Fornaroli has most recently been linked with the second Haas seat alongside Oliver Bearman, with incumbent Esteban Ocon’s long-term future unclear right now.
Bearman will also sit out FP1 in Budapest as Haas brings in Toyota protege Ryo Hirakawa.
Meanwhile, Alpine reserve driver Paul Aron gets his third FP1 outing of the year. Following two sessions on loan at Audi, in Barcelona and Austria, Aron will replace Franco Colapinto at Alpine in FP1.
F1 teams are required by regulation to enter rookie drivers in four FP1 sessions across the season, two per car.
