Leonardo Fornaroli’s Formula 2 championship triumph briefly came under doubt following an incident involving Red Bull junior driver Arvid Lindblad. However, the young Italian has now been officially confirmed as champion after an update from the stewards. "Okay I wasn't aware of that. It's not an ideal scenario for me."
- Leonardo FornaroliUntil the final question of his press conference, the Italian did not know that his title could still be taken away.
Arvid Lindblad was being investigated by the stewards for a Safety Car infringement. The Red Bull talent was summoned by the stewards.
That penalty could have meant that Richard Verschoor gains a position, and two additional points in the standings. As a result, the gap would be at 39 points, which is exactly the amount of points that could be gathered during the final round of the Abu Dhabi GP.
Fornaroli at the champion's press conference in Qatar - Photo: GPblog
When told about this, Fornaroli was visibly surprised. He said: "Okay I wasn't aware of that. It's not an ideal scenario for me. If it happened I could do nothing about it. I mean I have to focus on the things I could control so in case that happened means I have to concentrate even more for next weekend."
The Italian was then comforted in the room after the press conference ended.
Fornaroli confirmed champion
However, the Invicta Racing driver now has his scare behind him, with the stewards ruling no further action on the incident involving Lindblad.
The 18-year-old Red Bull talent was summoned for driving unnecessarily slowly and impeding Rodin driver Alex Dunne prior to the safety car restart.
This means that the Italian is now officially the F2 champion, following in the footsteps of Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto.
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