With a debut season under his belt, Brando Badoer is ready to take on his second F3 campaign in 2026, this time with Rodin Motorsport. The 19-year-old showed potential in his maiden year, especially during the second half of 2025.
Although he struggled a bit as he settled into Prema Racing, Badoer managed to tally 13 points. He showed his best form during the Hungarian round, where he scored 11 points across both races.
A new team for 2026
After Prema Racing’s disappointing 2025 season, which saw the team fall far from its usual top spot in the Teams’ Championship and finish in seventh, Badoer decided to switch to Rodin for the 2026 F3 season.
Following the post-season tests at Imola, Badoer spoke about Rodin’s preparations for next season. The Italian expressed confidence in his decision to switch teams, highlighting the trust his new squad has in him:
“I’m feeling good. The environment in the team is positive. We are pushing a lot and working a lot to prepare for the 2026 campaign. So we will keep working in this direction for the winter, to go to Australia as prepared as we can.
“I think there has been a lot of trust from their side, which was important. As well as that, they performed really well over the past few seasons. So it was a good option to continue in F3 with them.”
Staying positive despite previous challenges
Driven to succeed and advance, Brando Badoer is as focused as ever, with preparations for the F3 2026 season already underway. He also emphasised the importance of a good relationship between driver and technical team:
“I am pretty positive about the choice. So I will work as hard as I can to get the results next year. It’s a good environment. And I like working a lot with the mechanics and engineers. So I feel good. I think that’s a very important thing in a racing team. So hopefully it can continue like this.”
Nonetheless, the Italian driver outlined his plan of attack for 2026. Acknowledging his struggles from 2025, Badoer aims to use the lessons from his first year to maximise his results:
“I think it’s not a secret that my opportunity in F3 has so far been really tough,” he said. “We had a lot of difficulties throughout the year. But in the second part of the season, we were quick.
“I don’t doubt myself being quick. So I will just try to maximise every opportunity, and use the experience we had last year as a benefit. And let’s see what we get.”
2026 groundwork
As the 2026 F3 season is still some time away, Badoer is focusing on all the preparation he can do in the meantime. While he won’t have access to the actual car, the Italian will do simulator work to ready himself:
“Both mental and physical training are really important as this level,” explained Badoer. “So we will keep on like this. I will do some simulator as well. Testing is limited, so we won’t be driving the car. But we will work around it and try to be as prepared as we can.”
Confessing to an unexpected lack of predictions, the 19-year-old hopes for a second season full of close battles for the podium:
“It’s really difficult to set goals. I don’t like to make predictions. But we will have to fight at the front and I will try to do it.”
