On the back of the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, McLaren announced three new signings to their Driver Development Programme, including newly-crowned F2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli.
McLaren have announced that Leonardo Fornaroli, Richard Verschoor, and Christian Costoya have joined their Driver Development Programme.
On the back of an exceptional season, Fornaroli will join the McLaren junior driver programme, having achieved remarkable success this season with four victories and five podiums across 2025 FIA Formula 2 Feature and Sprint races.
These performances saw the Italian become only the third driver to achieve back-to-back Championship wins in FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3, emulating current McLaren Formula 1 driver, Oscar Piastri and McLaren Driver Development Programme graduate, Gabriel Bortoleto.
The 20-year-old from Piacenza will take on a test and development role within the the Woking-based team’s structure.
Commenting on his new role for 2026, Fornaroli said: “I’m incredibly proud to be joining the McLaren Driver Development Programme after another successful year on track.
“Winning both the FIA Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles has been an important step in my journey, and I’m motivated to take the next step in my development through the programme as I work toward my ultimate goal of racing at the highest level.
“I’m very grateful to McLaren for this opportunity, and to everyone who has supported me throughout my career so far. I can’t wait to get started and work closely with the rest of the team.”
Verschoor ended the current FIA Formula 2 season in third behind Fornaroli and Jak Crawford. The 24-year-old from Utrecht joins the McLaren Driver Development Programme with a ten-year experience in single-seater competition, which includes a victory at the Macau Grand Prix – FIA F3 World Cup win in 2019.
“I’m delighted to be part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme. It’s a special moment, and I’m grateful for McLaren’s support in allowing me to continue my development within the programme.
“I’m excited to get going and work hard with the team in the coming months,” commented Verschoor.
Admiring his latest addition…
It’s still not sunk in 🌍#McLaren pic.twitter.com/Rt5VueG8Zz
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) December 12, 2025
Christian Costoya becomes part of the McLaren family with multiple karting championship and trophy victories to his name, including the 2025 FIA European Karting Championship.
The 15-year-old driver from Silleda has also been crowned vice-champion in both the 2023 FIA Karting World Championship and 2024 FIA Karting European Championship.
As an initial step in his development pathway, Costoya will make his single-seater debut in the upcoming 2026 F4 Middle East Championship at Yas Marina Circuit on 16-18 January.
The McLaren Driver Development Programme now currently includes Pato O’Ward, Dries van Langendonck, Ella Lloyd, Matteo De Palo, Ella Stevens, Ella Häkkinen, Leonardo Fornaroli, Richard Verschoor and Christian Costoya.
On behalf of the Woking-based outfit, Alessandro Alunni Bravi, who left the Sauber outfit to become McLaren’s Chief Business Affairs Officer, commented: “McLaren Racing are delighted to welcome two of Formula 2’s current leading drivers in this year’s Champion Leonardo Fornaroli and former Championship contender and fellow front-runner Richard Verschoor, as well as proven karting champion, Christian Costoya, to the McLaren Racing Driver Development Programme.
“All three talented drivers have shown great race craft with multiple wins this season, alongside a number of impressive performances in their respective championships. By welcoming Christian to the programme alongside long-standing member, Dries Van Langendonck, we now also have two of the most promising drivers coming out of karting.
“It is a key priority that we continue to develop our talent pipeline to provide options for all of our expanding racing teams. We look forward to working closely with all our drivers in 2026 as they continue their individual development at various stages of their career with the support of the programme through a wide range of testing and progression opportunities across all of our racing series.”