Brando Badoer continued his impressive run of form with a third-place finish in the FIA Formula 3 (F3) Budapest Round Feature Race, collecting his fourth podium of the season and another valuable haul of championship points.
The Rodin Motorsport driver briefly moved into third on the opening lap before dropping back to fourth, eventually reclaiming the final podium position during the race. Despite several Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car interruptions preventing the race from finding a rhythm, Badoer managed the restarts well before bringing home another top-three finish.
Speaking in the post-race FIA Formula 3 press conference, attended by Pit Debrief, Badoer described the afternoon as relatively straightforward despite the repeated interruptions.
“Yeah, it was a pretty calm race, I would say, good first lap, initially went to P3, then dropped to P4, got the podium back during the race, then lots of interruption with VSC and safety cars, but managed to restart pretty well, tried to stay as close as possible to the two guys in front, it wasn’t really possible to get by, so I just settled in P3 and brought it home. I would say happy about the weekend, over 20 points, so that’s what we need to do from now to the end of the season.”
No way through for Badoer on Sunday at the Hungaroring
Despite closing on race winner Freddie Slater and second-placed Ugo Ugochukwu after the final Safety Car restart, Badoer admitted there was little opportunity to launch a late attack.
Although he still had some performance left in his tyres, he felt those ahead were in much the same position, making overtaking all but impossible around the Hungaroring.
“I mean, I got something left, but these guys had the same, so we were in a quite similar pace than in the last laps, I started to struggle slightly more, and yeah, as I said before, it wasn’t really possible to make the moves, so yeah.”
Momentum heading into the final rounds
With just Monza and the Madrid double-header remaining, Badoer believes maintaining consistency will be the key as the season reaches its conclusion.
The Italian welcomed the upcoming summer break before attention turns to what promises to be a crucial finish to the championship.
“Yeah, as the guys said [Ugohcukwu and Slater], it’s important to be fast, be on it, and yeah, we have a couple of funny rounds ahead of us, and definitely crucial for the championships, and yeah, now we’ve got the summer break, so a bit of reset, a bit of rest, and now we go again.”
Track position was vital in the Budapest Feature
Badoer was asked by Pit Debrief about the importance of following another car around the Hungaroring, the value of early track position and how the multiple Safety Car interruptions affected the race.
The Italian explained why getting to the front early makes managing the race considerably easier.
“It’s definitely important to be at the front, be in a good race position, because of the way you can manage the race, obviously it’s easier to drive at the front, a lot more room to manage the tyres in the way you prefer, and yeah, it’s definitely important to find yourself in a good position from the earlier laps to bring the result home.”
With repeated Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car periods interrupting the F3 Budapest Feature Race, drivers were forced to continually adapt their tyre management as racing resumed, but for Badoer, it was simply another challenge that comes with racing in FIA Formula 3.
“Yeah, as I said before, it was a particular race with many interruptions. Obviously, it hard to keep a bit of life in the tyres, but still, at the end, we pushed really hard. So, yeah, I don’t think there was much left. So, yeah, at the end, it balanced out really. And, yeah, this kind of race happens often in F3, so you need to be prepared for every situation.”
