McLaren signs Leonardo Fornaroli and Pato O'Ward as 2026 F1 reserve drivers

The McLaren F1 team has confirmed reigning F2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli and IndyCar star Pato O'Ward as its 2026 reserve drivers.

Fornaroli was snapped up by McLaren in December after securing the F2 championship, joining its driver development programme. As part of those duties the Italian will be its designated reserve driver for the majority of the 2026 season, supporting regular racers Oscar Piastri and world champion Lando Norris. As part of the deal, McLaren explained Fornaroli "would undertake an intensive testing and sim programme to aid his development".

"I’m thrilled to be stepping into an extended role with the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team as reserve driver as part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme," said Fornaroli. "It’s an exciting next step in my journey, and I’m looking forward to contributing to such a successful, championship-winning team this season. A big thank you to Zak [Brown], Andrea [Stella] and Alessandro [Alunni Bravi] for this opportunity."

McLaren's IndyCar frontrunner O'Ward will complement Fornaroli as far as his IndyCar duties allow.

“I am excited to continue in my role as reserve driver for the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team, alongside my primary duties in the NTT IndyCar Series with Arrow McLaren," the Mexican said. "I’ve learned an incredible amount from testing and driving F1 cars over the past few years, so I am looking forward to this continued growth and development.”

Pato O' Ward testing for McLaren in Abu Dhabi

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Alongside Fornaroli and O'Ward, McLaren confirmed its full development roster for 2026 will consist of Christian Costoya, Matteo De Palo, Ella Hakkinen, Ella Lloyd, Ella Stevens, Dries Van Langendonck and Richard Verschoor.

Recent signing and long-time F2 competitor Verschoor will compete in the European Le Mans Series with the Duqueine LMP2 squad, with a view to preparing for McLaren's hypercar assault in 2027.

De Palo is McLaren's most senior youngster on its single-seater ladder in FIA F3 with Trident, while Belgian prodigy Van Langendonck will graduate full-time from karting to single-seaters in British F4 - with Costoya also set for an F3 programme throughout Europe.

Lloyd and Stevens will represent McLaren in F1 Academy, while Hakkinen, the daughter of two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen, will undertake an F4 testing programme ahead of a projected 2027 racing programme.

Alessandro Alunni Bravi, McLaren's chief businesses affairs officer, said: “The team is pleased to confirm its driver development programme line-up alongside its racing and testing programmes for 2026.

"It’s great for Leonardo to step up into the reserve driver role for the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team as part of his development with us, with Pato O’Ward also continuing in this role. We have selected an incredibly talented group of nine drivers, which shows the health of our talent pipeline.

"We are all excited to see their development this season as we create professional drivers across all aspects of racing, progressing towards Formula 1, IndyCar and the team’s upcoming World Endurance Championship entry.”