Photo: Dutch Photo Agency
Brando Badoer will move to Rodin Motorsport for his sophomore FIA Formula 3 Championship campaign next year.
The 19-year-old Italian, son of 1992 International Formula 3000 champion and former Formula 1 driver Luca Badoer, switches teams after coming 25th in the standings as a rookie with Prema.
He did not finish in the top half of the field in the first seven rounds as he and Prema adapted to FIA F3’s new car, but then got three consecutive points finishes and qualified a career-best eighth before being mired in the midfield again at the finale.
“I’m super excited to be joining the Rodin F3 team for next season. I can’t wait to get it started, full push!” said Badoer.
Badoer spent two years in Formula 4, coming sixth in E4 and Italian F4’s 2023 standings with Van Amersfoort Racing and getting eight podiums across the two championships, before stepping up to Formula Regional last year.
In the European championship he came fifth with VAR, going on a run of five runner-up finishes and claiming two other podiums but never a win. Either side of that he drove for PHM Racing in FRegional Middle East’s 2024 and 2025 seasons, coming fourth in the latter campaign with a maiden single-seater victory and three other podium appearances.
“We’re delighted to welcome Brando to Rodin Motorsport for FIA F3 in 2026,” said the team’s sporting director Benn Huntingford. “He’s shown great speed and maturity, and we’re confident he’ll make a strong impact with the team.”
Badoer joined the McLaren Driver Development Programme [MDDP] in October 2023 on a one-year deal as an ‘optioned driver’, then was granted full Formula 1 junior status for this year following the end of that evaluation period.