Brando Badoer believes determination, hard work and the support of Rodin Motorsport allowed him to demonstrate his potential during a substantially improved second FIA F3 campaign in 2026.
The Italian ended the season eighth in the Drivers’ Championship with 71 points, a significant recovery from a difficult rookie year with PREMA Racing in which he scored only 13. His sophomore campaign delivered four podiums, including a memorable maiden F3 victory around the streets of Monaco, and briefly placed him firmly in the battle for a top-three championship finish.
Notably, Badoer entered the Madrid finale only a handful of points away from third after spending much of the year among the leading group, marking a dramatic change from his challenging 2025 F3 campaign.
Badoer reflects positively on transformed 2026 F3 season
Badoer arrived at Rodin for 2026 determined to rebuild after a rookie campaign in which results rarely reflected the potential he had shown before stepping up to Formula 3.
The change quickly produced results. He scored his first F3 podium during the opening weekend in Melbourne before establishing himself as a regular contender near the front during the European rounds.
By the latter stages of the season, Badoer had accumulated four podiums and remained involved in the battle immediately behind the championship leaders. Although the final two rounds ultimately dropped him to eighth in the standings, the wider campaign represented a clear step forward.
“It’s definitely been a good season overall,” he said. “Lots of good races, important races and memories with the team. Of course, we got the Monaco win, and we got four podiums, and we worked really well throughout the year.
“Coming into the last round we were a couple of points off P3 in the championship, in the top five. It was a really good fight for it so definitely a strong season overall.
“I think overall we had a lot of positive things. Some things we could have done better. Every year when you look back at the season, there are a lot of things where you think I lost points there or there. But it’s normal and it’s that way for everyone.
“Sometimes we got good luck, sometimes bad luck. But overall I can be happy about the work I’ve done in F3, and I’m really thankful for every part of the team, the mechanics, engineers, the team manager, for all the work they’ve done alongside me.”
Rodin also continued its own development during the season, finishing sixth in the Teams’ Championship as Badoer and teammate Pedro Clerot provided several of its strongest results.
Monaco victory becomes defining moment
One weekend stands considerably above the others for Badoer.
After topping his qualifying group in Monaco, he earned a front-row start for the Feature Race. Badoer then produced a better launch than pole-sitter Théophile Naël and took the lead into Sainte Devote before controlling the remainder of the race.
The result gave him his maiden Formula 3 victory at one of motorsport’s most prestigious venues and moved him to fourth in the championship after the second round. His Monaco Feature Race victory also completed a strong weekend for Rodin after Clerot reached the podium in the Sprint Race.
The significance of the result remained clear when Badoer reflected on the campaign after Madrid.
“Winning in Monaco. I’ve had many good moments, but for sure that stands out.
“I think I achieved it, and it was a good celebration. It was a good celebration, but not long because I had Barcelona.”
That quick shift towards Barcelona reflected the approach Badoer maintained throughout the season. Even after achieving a long-held ambition, the championship demanded an immediate reset ahead of the next round.
Badoer shows potential after difficult 2025 season
The contrast with 2025 remained central to Badoer’s assessment of his second year.
His rookie campaign with PREMA proved particularly difficult. He struggled to score during the opening half of the season and did not register his first points until Spa-Francorchamps. A stronger Budapest weekend followed, but he ultimately completed the year well outside the positions expected before the season.
Badoer moved to Rodin determined to demonstrate that those results did not accurately represent his potential. Before the 2026 opener, he was already targeting a return to the front after joining a team that had made steady progress in F3. His pre-season expectations with Rodin centred on rebuilding confidence and producing the performances he felt capable of delivering.
The improvement became obvious almost immediately.
“I’m definitely happy to have shown the world my potential. The worst season was last year.
“I usually always perform at a high level, but last year for many reasons it was impossible. Definitely tough moments make you stronger.
“I think I still managed to comeback very strong and motivated for 2026, and with the help of a team that for me has been like a family, in Rodin. It was possible to fight at the top of the Standings.
“So I would say the determination, motivation and the support of my team made it possible. People forget about a negative 2025, which was definitely a tough one to deal with.”
The move allowed Badoer to establish himself as a regular points scorer rather than spending much of the year attempting to recover from difficult qualifying positions and incidents.
Greater consistency keeps Badoer in top-three fight
Consistency represented another significant improvement.
Badoer’s 2025 campaign featured long stretches without points, whereas his second season included competitive results at a wider range of circuits. By the summer break, he had emerged as one of the drivers fighting for the positions immediately behind the championship leaders.
His form around Spa and Budapest provided a particularly strong example. Badoer finished second in the Spa Sprint Race before claiming another podium at the Hungaroring, giving him podium finishes on consecutive weekends.
The Budapest result represented his fourth top-three finish of the year and moved him back up to fourth in the standings on 71 points. His Hungaroring Feature Race podium left him firmly involved in the contest for a top-three championship finish before the final two rounds.
However, Badoer acknowledged that delivering the same level every weekend remains one of Formula 3’s greatest challenges. A field separated by extremely small margins can quickly turn a competitive car into a midfield result if qualifying or race execution falls short.
Hard work becomes Badoer’s biggest strength
While greater experience naturally helped during his second F3 season, Badoer does not identify one particular driving technique as the central reason for his improvement.
Instead, he points towards the detailed work completed with Rodin away from the circuit and between sessions.
The partnership had already become an important factor earlier in the season. Badoer repeatedly praised the environment within Rodin, while the team’s preparation helped produce particularly strong weekends in Monaco and later Budapest.
Asked to identify his biggest strength during 2026, Badoer returned to that work ethic.
“Maybe it might sound a bit obvious, but I would say the hard work,” said Badoer when asked about his biggest strength in 2026. “Going into every tiny detail when things are not as good as they should.
“It helps you fix them and make them good for the next time. So I would say the really hard and deep work always gets you out of tough situations. So I would say that’s the key.”
That mentality became particularly important whenever results dipped. Silverstone, for example, proved one of his more difficult weekends as Badoer qualified in the midfield and failed to score in either race. His difficult British GP weekend interrupted his momentum after several competitive rounds.
Rather than allowing those weekends to develop into the prolonged struggles seen in 2025, Badoer and Rodin repeatedly found ways to return to contention.
Rodin provides foundation for Badoer revival
Badoer’s praise for Rodin extended beyond the performance of the car.
He repeatedly described the team as resembling a family throughout the season, highlighting the mechanics, engineers and management who helped him rebuild after the disappointment of his rookie year.
That relationship represented a particularly important change following his move away from PREMA. Rodin entered 2026 having steadily improved across recent F3 seasons, and Badoer became one of the clearest beneficiaries of that progression.
His Monaco victory helped push the team into third in the Teams’ Championship during the early part of the season, while Clerot also emerged as a regular podium contender. The pair helped Rodin demonstrate another step towards becoming a consistent front-running operation.
Badoer had already credited the stronger environment when discussing his season before the final rounds, explaining how Rodin helped him rediscover his competitiveness after 2025.
Final rounds prevent top-three championship finish
Badoer entered the closing phase of the season targeting a place inside the championship top three.
After Budapest, he sat fourth on 71 points and remained only 14 behind Théophile Naël in third. He was fifth entering the final two rounds and still only a handful of points away from the position he had targeted throughout the second half of the campaign.
However, Monza and Madrid did not produce the points required to complete that objective. He remained on 71 after Monza before the Madrid finale ultimately left him eighth in the final standings.
The outcome meant his finishing position did not fully reflect how close the midfield championship fight had been entering the final rounds. Nevertheless, the wider comparison with 2025 remains significant: Badoer progressed from 13 points and a season near the rear of the standings to a victory, four podiums and 71 points.
His final 2026 record therefore provides a considerably stronger representation of the potential he believes he always possessed.
Badoer leaves 2026 with reputation restored
The final championship position may have fallen short of Badoer’s top-three ambition, but his second Formula 3 season achieved a larger objective.
After a rookie year in which he struggled to display the form that had previously made him a leading Formula Regional prospect, Badoer returned to the front with Rodin. His Monaco victory delivered the clearest proof, while podiums across multiple circuits demonstrated that the result was not an isolated performance.
The campaign also reinforced the importance of resilience after a difficult season. Rather than allowing 2025 to define his F3 career, Badoer changed teams, rebuilt his confidence and returned capable of fighting among the leading drivers.
His four podiums, 71 points and Monaco victory represent the statistical improvement. However, Badoer views the hard work behind those results as the more important lesson.
A year after one of the most difficult campaigns of his career, he leaves 2026 having shown considerably more of the ability he felt had previously gone unseen.
