After his long-awaited F2 win at Silverstone, Leonardo Fornaroli reveals to LWOS the renewed determination he carries into Belgium.

F2 Momentum Builds for Leonardo Fornaroli After Silverstone Success

Leonardo Fornaroli has finally entered the club of Formula 2 winners. The Italian’s path to the top step of the podium has been a long and testing one. Now, it has paid off.

1492 days before Silverstone, Fornaroli was 16 years old, racing for Iron Lynx in Italian Formula 4.

He arrived at Misano, the second round of the championship, filled with confidence following a strong showing at Le Castellet, where he had scored points in all three opening races.

Fornaroli started Race 1 from pole position and led from lights to flag. That weekend, he secured three podium finishes across all races.

While the season did not unfold exactly as he had hoped, he demonstrated his speed and potential.

The Pressure of Winning

In motorsport, consistency remains a key factor. Every driver aims to strike the right balance between scoring points and winning every race, without overdoing it, which can have negative consequences.

Fornaroli has long understood the value of consistency. It has been instrumental in his rise through the junior ranks, even earning him a driver title. In Formula 3 last year, he exemplified this balance while driving for the title-winning team Trident.

The Italian team has played a pivotal role in Fornaroli’s development since his debut season in the European Formula Regional Championship. With Trident, he endured the frustration of struggling for top results, but also savoured the highs, standing on podiums and eventually securing a title in the final race at Monza.

Although he closed the 2024 season on a high, one thing was still missing: a race win. While consistency is an important factor in demonstrating a driver’s reliability, it is not everything in motorsport. Drivers do not go out on track to finish in the points or second. They race to reach the top step, to prove they have outperformed everyone else.

That hunger fuelled Fornaroli every time he put his helmet on and took to the track. But desire alone is not always enough; sometimes, achieving that next level requires a mental shift.

READ MORE: Formula 2 Championship Battle Continues in Belgium at the Spa-Francorchamps

Fornaroli’s F2 Journey: Close, but Not Quite

Over the years, Fornaroli has come close to victory multiple times since that breakthrough win in Misano. One of the most notable near-misses came earlier this season in Monte Carlo’s feature race, a track where overtaking is famously difficult.

After emerging unscathed from the opening chaos, he found himself comfortably in the lead. Victory seemed within reach. However, some might say fate had different plans for him.

The Italian was blindsided by a late safety car call, which helped Jak Crawford pit and exit in front of the group. The race was then red-flagged for damage to the barrier. As a result, Fornaroli finished in second place, feeling bitter about how things turned out for him.

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A New Chapter: Silverstone and Beyond

At Silverstone, after a difficult qualifying session, Fornaroli managed to clinch pole for the Sprint Race.

This time, he refused to let the opportunity evade him. When the lights went out, he briefly lost the lead to Kush Maini but quickly reclaimed it. From that point on, he controlled the race and crossed the line in first.

Now, as he heads to Spa, where margins are tight, Fornaroli is determined to hit the ground running and replicate the result from Silverstone.

Ahead of the Belgian round, LWOS spoke with Foranoli about what achieving that victory means for him and how he can translate the joy of the event into determination for this weekend:

“Yes, it was a little relief. Finally, I managed to win my first race in F2, and it was very nice. I was very happy about that race, and this win gives me a bit more confidence because now I know that I have the potential to win. Still, it was a sprint race, so it gives me more motivation to try to take something bigger.” – Leonardo Fornaroli to LWOS.

Last year, Spa served as the penultimate round of the Formula 3 season, where  Fornaroli took the championship lead. This weekend, he will aim to at least match that performance, if not surpass it.

READ NEXT: Belgium GP Brings the Heat: Storylines To Watch at Spa

Main Photo

Credit: IMAGO / PsnewZ

Recording Date: 07/14/2025

Kyle Larson will look to go back-to-back at the Brickyard 400 when he takes part in the championship round of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge at the 2025 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday. Ty Dillon, meanwhile, will face off against Ty Gibbs for the head-to-head In-Season Challenge title. Larson will look to win his fourth race of the season, but first since May 11. Larson, the 2021 Cup Series champion, has 13 top-10 finishes this season, including a fourth-place finish at last week’s EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway.

Denny Hamlin is the +440 favorite in the 2025 Brickyard 400 odds via FanDuel Sportsbook, with Larson at +500. Other favorites include Ryan Blaney at +700 and William Byron and Chase Elliott at +1000 in the latest 2025 NASCAR at Indianapolis odds, from DraftKings Sportsbook. Sunday’s race is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET. Before making any 2025 Brickyard 400 picks or NASCAR predictions, you need to see what NASCAR insider Steven Taranto has to say, and get $150 in bonus bets instantly at Fanduel if your $5 bet wins. 

Taranto, who moonlights as a sim racer and has 20 career wins in iRacing, is the lead NASCAR writer for CBSSports.com. He has an annual NASCAR media credential and also publishes a popular weekly NASCAR predictions column, famously calling Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez’s breakthrough wins in 2022.

Taranto was red-hot for SportsLine in 2024 as he nailed 17 winners, including 16-1 longshot William Byron at the Daytona 500 and 14-1 longshot Chase Elliott at Texas. He correctly picked the Straight Talk Wireless 400 winner in Larson on March 23. Anyone following his NASCAR picks at their favorite sportsbooks could have seen huge returns.

Now, Taranto has analyzed the starting lineup and odds for Sunday’s 2025 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He’s only sharing his best bets at SportsLine. You can also use them to take advantage of the latest FanDuel promo code, DraftKings promo code or BetMGM promo code.

2025 NASCAR Brickyard 400 expert picks

For the 2025 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Taranto is high on Indiana native Chase Briscoe at +1100. The 30-year-old has second-place finishes in each of the past two weeks. He was runner-up at the Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on July 13 and at the EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway this past Sunday. He has one win on the year, taking first at the Great American Getaway at Pocono Raceway on June 22.

He has 10 top-10 finishes this season. In 161 career races over five years at the Cup Series level, Briscoe has registered three wins with 39 top-10 finishes and six pole positions. His best season finish was ninth in 2022. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year. See which other drivers he’s backing at SportsLine.

Top NASCAR props for Brickyard 400

Head-to-head: Taranto sees Ty Dillon (+195) finishing ahead of Ty Gibbs (-280). Dillon, a 12-year NASCAR Cup Series veteran, is still seeking his first win on the circuit, although he has eight top-10 finishes in 249 races. He placed eighth at the Quaker State 400 at Atlanta. Dillon, 33, was the 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year.

Gibbs, meanwhile, is the grandson of NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs and is seeking his first Cup Series win. He does have 27 top-10 finishes over his four-year Cup Series career in 103 races run. He has six top-10 finishes this season, including each of the past three weeks. Gibbs was second at the Grant Park 165 in Chicago three weeks ago. See all of Taranto’s picks at SportsLine. 

How to make 2025 Brickyard 400 predictions

Taranto has also identified four other drivers in his 2025 NASCAR Brickyard 400 best bets. He’s also high on a huge NASCAR longshot who’s going off at 100-1, potentially netting any backer a huge payday. You can only see who they are here.

So who wins the 2025 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis and which massive longshot could stun NASCAR? Visit SportsLine now to see the 2025 NASCAR Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway picks and best bets from a NASCAR insider who nailed a colossal 17 winners last year, and find out.

2025 NASCAR Brickyard 400 odds, lineup

See full 2025 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway picks at SportsLine

(odds subject to change)

Denny Hamlin +440
Kyle Larson +500
Ryan Blaney +700
Tyler Reddick +1000
Chase Elliott +1000
William Byron +1000
Christopher Bell +1200
Chase Briscoe +1200
Chris Buescher +1200
Ty Gibbs +1900
Brad Keselowski +2100
Joey Logano +2200
Carson Hocevar +2900
Bubba Wallace +3100
Alex Bowman +3200
Ross Chastain +3200
Kyle Busch +4000
Austin Cindric +5000
Josh Berry +5000
John Hunter Nemechek +7500
Ryan Preece +7500
Erik Jones +7500
Daniel Suarez +10000
AJ Allmendinger +18000
Michael McDowell +19000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. +24000
Austin Dillon +24000
Jesse Love +28000
Cole Custer +28000
Noah Gragson +28000
Zane Smith +28000
Shane Van Gisbergen +34000
Justin Haley +36000
Todd Gilliland +38000
Ty Dillon +50000
Cody Ware +50000
Josh Bilicki +50000
Riley Herbst +50000
Katherine Legge +50000 

NASCAR is set for another race many consider a “crown jewel” on the schedule this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the Brickyard 400 back for the second year in a row following a three-year stretch of NASCAR’s trip to Indy instead involving a Cup Series race on the track’s interior road course, rather than the famed oval.

While Indianapolis is, by every measure, a superspeedway, it is not considered a drafting track, so the standard intermediate qualifying format is set to be used. Quite simply, there is one round of qualifying, and each driver gets one single-lap attempt around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Speedway, Indiana oval.

There are still technically qualifying “groups”, though I’m still not really sure why, seeing as how all the times are stacked up against one another, and unlike last year, there is no longer a second round shootout for the pole position. There is also no longer any kind of row-by-row lane designation based on group number.

The qualifying order was determined by the two-variable metric which was introduced ahead of the 2025 season, replacing the four-variable metric that was used from 2020 to 2024, including for last year’s Brickyard 400. A full breakdown of the new order can be found here.

Here’s a look at Saturday’s qualifying order, featuring 39 drivers after a total of four lineup changes were made following the most recent race weekend at Dover Motor Speedway.

NASCAR at Indianapolis: Full Brickyard 400 qualifying order

Indianapolis qualifying: Group 1

1 – Jesse Love, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet

2 – Josh Bilicki, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford

3 – Katherine Legge, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet

4 – Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford

5 – Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford

6 – Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

7 – A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

8 – Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford

9 – Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

10 – Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota

11 – Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

12 – Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

13 – Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

14 – Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

15 – Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

16 – Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

17 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet

18 – Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford

19 – William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

20 – Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Indianapolis qualifying: Group 2

21 – John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
22 – Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
23 – Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
24 – Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
25 – Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
26 – Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
27 – Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
28 – Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
29 – Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
30 – Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
31 – Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
32 – Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
33 – Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
34 – Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
35 – Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
36 – Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
37 – Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
38 – Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
39 – Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Layne Riggs Key Takeaways

• Stage One: 1st / Stage Two: 1st / Race Result: 1st

• Layne Riggs earned his second win of the 2025 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season last night at the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Leading 160 of the 200 scheduled laps, Riggs swept the stages before capturing the checkered flag. Friday night’s win marks the fourth career win for Riggs and fourth Truck Series win for Front Row Motorsports in 2025.

• “This truck was absolutely flying today,” said Riggs. “Dylan (Cappello), the entire team, and everyone back at the shop in Mooresville brought me a rocket ship—it made my job easy. It’s awesome to get Clew Nicotine Pouches to Victory Lane in just their second race with us. This track is special to me. I made my first Truck Series start here in 2022, and my dad ran his first Truck race here back in 1999. To come full circle and grab the win here is just really cool.”

Chandler Smith Key Takeaways

• Stage One: 3rd / Stage Two: 5th / Race Result: 7th

• “Today was a solid points day for us,” said Smith. “We gave up a few spots on pit road, but overall, it was a strong run for our first race back after the break. Big congratulations to Layne (Riggs) and the No. 34 team—they were definitely the best truck out there.”

FRM PR

There is something that is not quite right about doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. This brings to mind the NASCAR race on Chicago’s lakefront streets for the past three years.

Since the city of Chicago and NASCAR agree there will be no race in 2026, that gives everyone a chance to take a deep breath and start thinking outside the box or, in this case, outside the makeshift road course that doesn’t seem to make anybody happy.

How about a NASCAR Festival at Navy Pier or even at McCormick Place? Think Chicago Auto Show but for NASCAR devotees and all kinds of car geeks. Giant screens showing historic NASCAR races and highlights. Cars, drivers, pit crews, vendors, entertainers and even sponsors could be showcased over a couple of days along our magnificent lakefront. Navy Pier has tons of space outdoors and inside. McCormick Place already has a blueprint for showcasing cars and trucks, plus all the neat car stuff you can imagine.

If the whole purpose of what transpired in Chicago over the past three years was to build the NASCAR brand and get Chicagoans to fall in love with everything NASCAR, while bringing revenue to the city, then think what a festival could do. More people could possibly attend. Chicago’s weather would be much less of a factor. There could be ample opportunities to let folks actually touch the cars and listen to, or talk to, those who are devoted to everything NASCAR.

The people on both sides who are responsible for what will happen here in 2027 have ample time to figure out the actual opportunities and costs without shutting down a single street.

— Susan Burritt, Chicago

Goodbye, NASCAR

After learning that NASCAR decided not to return to Chicago in 2026, my first reaction was: “Yeah!”

My second reaction was: Thanks for returning Grant Park back to Chicago.

My third reaction was: Now let’s return the Taste of Chicago to Grant Park in July, when it is supposed to be, and let’s return it to at least a full-week schedule and with more activities, like it used to be, and not the measly, reduced-size, three-day weekend as is scheduled this year.

And also, let’s return the Fourth of July fireworks to the Grant Park lakefront instead of the out-of-the-way, hard-to-get-to, overcrowded Navy Pier.

— Mario Caruso, Chicago

National park visitors

In their July 23 op-ed (“How do we help America’s national parks? Make global visitors pay more”), Tate Watkins and Sharon Suiwen Zou advocate making international visitors to our national parks pay higher admission fees. They embrace the administration’s “America First” policy under the pretense of generating more revenue to “sustain our most treasured public lands for visitors of all types” — you know, those foreign types!

This is the same administration cutting national parks staff, looking to open up parks for private development and starting global tariff wars (with many countries that have been America’s biggest source of tourism). How do you think that’s going to play out? Want to visit the Eiffel Tower, the Vatican or Tower of London? Oh, you’re an American? You have to pay more.

America’s 85 million acres of national parks are places where everyone is welcome to experience the natural beauty of the United States. Raising fees for global visitors would drive more tourism away than add any meaningful funding for the park system. Throughout our history, presidents, Congress and leaders of industry have protected and invested with pride in keeping national parks pristine and accessible. They didn’t scheme to make a land grab for mining minerals, drilling for oil or building condos.

This isn’t about budgetary constraints or political correctness. It’s a foreign policy message. Let’s not hide behind “America First” and wind up “America Last.”

— Lindsay Resnick, Chicago

Church’s inclusivity

Thank you for the article regarding Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church (“Will Pope Leo XIV forge greater LGBTQ+ inclusion?” July 20). Our Lady of Mount Carmel has been a keystone of LGBTQ+ inclusivity for decades.

I remember 40 years ago turning to the church after an egregious life event and was welcomed by one of the deacons there, who not only was empathetic but also invited me and my partner to the rectory and his own home. I will never forget this kindness and the empathy extended to us!

Thank you so much for highlighting this wonderful community inclusion.

— Jeff Hale, Chicago

Great sundae place

Thank you for the “Sundae school” article in the Wednesday Food & Health section. My wife and I went that day to the Karak Cafe on Ogden Avenue in Lisle to congratulate them on their being highlighted in the article and try the Dubai chocolate sundae that was featured. The very friendly and gracious family there was unaware of your front-page section article but was pleased that we let them know about it. Also, the Dubai chocolate sundae is not on the cafe’s posted menu, but fortunately, it is available upon request.

— John Edinger, Burr Ridge

Mass transit woes

Why did I sit on a bus bench recently for over an hour, contemplating the dire future of our planet that is heating up at an alarming rate? I’ll tell you why: because no bus came, neither a city bus nor a free bus, while a thousand cars and trucks trundled by or stopped to idle noisily at a red light before continuing on.

Four other people joined my vigil, each staring at their phone, naturally. Every person I asked about a possible arrival time for the bus had a different version: five minutes, 12 minutes, 14 minutes, etc. Finally, a fifth soul came along whose phone told her that the bus was “canceled.”

I don’t mind that I simply walked back home without completing my little shopping trip. I do mind that we should be cutting down on traffic, thereby helping prevent dangerous air pollution. We encourage people to take public transportation to help save our planet. But who wants to take buses and trains that can’t be relied upon? And can we blame people for taking their cars knowing they can make three or four stops in an hour and still be home by lunchtime?

Future public transportation is going to have to be some kind of wonderful if we have any hopes of reducing the number of cars and trucks on the streets of our cities.

— Kathleen Melia, Niles

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.