“All the tension that I had during the weekend, during the race, during the two final laps were gone,” he explained. “It was an amazing feeling, the best one of my life.
“During all the cool down lap, we were all screaming on the radio with my engineer, with the team manager – everyone. Seeing all the people in the grandstands celebrating with me, it was amazing.”
GALLERY: Leonardo Fornaroli’s Championship weekend in Monza
‘I went back to him and gave him a big hug’
While he was victorious in the end, Fornaroli admits that his performance in Monza had not been the strongest of the title contenders.
His immediate feeling after getting out of the car was obviously jubilation, but he was aware enough in the moment to console his rival Minì and believes that his compatriot put together the more complete weekend.
“I was on the top of the car and Gabri came to shake my hand,” Fornaroli said. “Of course, I stopped my celebration to shake his hand but then felt I had to do it properly.
“So, I went back to him and gave him a big hug. He did a very good race – I was starting P1, but I finished P3, and he was starting behind me and finished in front of me, so his race was better than mine.