McLaren will hand Leonardo Fornaroli the MCL40 for FP1 sessions in Mexico City and São Paulo, wrapping the team's mandatory rookie runs for 2026. The Italian reserve driver, who sampled FP1 at Barcelona and Hungary earlier this season, logged nearly 350 kilometers at Paul Ricard last weekend in the championship-winning MCL39, working longer runs and setup variations.

Fornaroli swept F3 in 2024 and F2 in 2025 before joining McLaren's development program last November. Mexico's altitude and Interlagos' technical layout will test him in ways Barcelona and Hungary didn't—useful data points as he settles into the reserve role. Test driver Jake Hughes also turned laps at Paul Ricard, keeping his simulator correlation sharp.

The bigger headline: McLaren confirmed Fornaroli will race their new Hypercar program in WEC and Le Mans in 2027 while holding the F1 reserve seat. That's a dual-track bet on a driver who's climbed the ladder fast.

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