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McLaren is working on a loan arrangement to place Leonardo Fornaroli at Haas for the 2027 season, according to reports from the paddock. The reigning Formula 2 champion, signed as McLaren's reserve driver for 2026, faces a roadblock at Woking with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both locked into long-term contracts. The Haas route offers a familiar solution: get him race experience without losing control of his contract, then bring him back when a seat opens.
The deal would see Fornaroli replace Esteban Ocon at the American squad after 2026. McLaren has reportedly reached an agreement in principle with Haas, though Ferrari is attempting to block the move by pushing its own junior, Rafael Câmara, for the same seat. Fornaroli completed a private test for Haas in Jerez with the VF-25 recently, a clear sign that both parties are serious about making the arrangement work.
The Leclerc blueprint revisited
Loan deals are hardly novel in Formula 1, but they carry risk for both sides. Charles Leclerc spent 2018 at Sauber while contracted to Ferrari, using the season to prove he belonged before graduating to Maranello. George Russell did the same at Williams before Mercedes promoted him. Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo followed similar paths earlier in their careers. The model works when the junior team accepts it will lose the driver after one or two seasons, and when the parent team trusts the junior squad not to damage the asset.
Fornaroli's credentials justify the attention. He won the Formula 3 title in 2024 and followed it immediately with the Formula 2 championship in 2025, joining Leclerc, Russell and Gabriel Bortoleto as the only drivers to win both categories back-to-back in recent years. That trajectory typically signals readiness for F1, but McLaren has no seat to give him. Keeping him on the sidelines as a reserve risks losing him to a rival or watching his momentum stall.
Ferrari's counter-move complicates the picture
Ferrari's interest in placing Câmara at Haas introduces a wrinkle. The Brazilian is part of the Scuderia's driver academy and represents Ferrari's next generation, particularly if Lewis Hamilton's tenure proves short or Carlos Sainz's departure leaves a gap in the pipeline. Haas has historically functioned as a de facto Ferrari satellite team, sharing technical resources and personnel. That relationship gives Ferrari leverage, even if Haas is technically independent.
Fornaroli's test in Jerez suggests McLaren has moved faster. Haas would not allocate track time to a driver unless serious discussions were underway. The VF-25 outing also gave Fornaroli a chance to demonstrate he can adapt to contemporary machinery, a key consideration for Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu, who has emphasised driver consistency and feedback quality in recent months.
Career stakes for a compressed timeline
For Fornaroli, the decision carries weight. A year at Haas in 2027 would give him race mileage and full-season data to build on, but only if the car is competitive enough to showcase his talent. Haas finished seventh in the 2025 constructors' standings, a respectable outcome but not one that guarantees a driver will shine. Leclerc managed it in 2018 because Sauber gave him a stable platform and he delivered standout performances in Baku and Singapore. Fornaroli would need similar moments to justify McLaren's faith and ensure his return.
McLaren's calculation is straightforward: park Fornaroli somewhere he can develop without losing him to another programme, then recall him when Norris or Piastri moves on, or if a second seat becomes available through expansion or partnership changes. The alternative, leaving him as a reserve for multiple seasons, risks repeating the mistakes of earlier academies that let talent drift or lose sharpness. If Ferrari secures the Haas seat for Câmara instead, McLaren will need to find another solution quickly or risk Fornaroli exploring options elsewhere.
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