Brando Badoer joins the McLaren Young Driver Program

Brando Badoer has officially joined the driver development program at McLaren, while confirming his participation in the Formula 3 championship next year with Prema Racing.

Badoer impresses.

At the age of 18, the young talent has seduced the Woking team after a year of careful observation, prompting McLaren to activate its option to hire him permanently. Badoer thus joins the ranks of former talents from the academy such as Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, and Nyck de Vries.

The development of Badoer will be supervised by McLaren’s commercial operations director in F1, Stephanie Carlin, who stated: « We have closely monitored him over the past year and have been impressed by his performances as a rookie in the competitive Formula Regional championship, so it made sense to exercise our option and integrate him into the full-time program. »

The Italian driver will also continue his journey with Prema in Formula 3 next year, after an impressive season in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) within the Italian team.

With still two rounds to go in the FRECA series, Badoer currently holds the fifth position in the overall standings, after achieving six consecutive podiums.

Highly anticipated F3 beginnings

In a statement released by McLaren, Badoer did not miss expressing his joy: “I am delighted to be joining the McLaren driver development program. It’s a fantastic opportunity to join a team with such a racing heritage and a proven track record in talent development. Racing in the FIA Formula 3 championship in 2025 with Prema Racing will contribute to my progression, and I want to thank the entire McLaren team for their support. I look forward to learning from the team’s advice and racing under their iconic colors.”

On his side, Prema’s team manager, Rene Rosin, commented: “Brando is a very interesting driver, and we are thrilled to offer him an opportunity for 2025. We have been following him closely as we noticed his potential from F4 to FRECA, and we have seen him make an impressive leap this season. Formula 3 will be a challenge, as usual, but he has the right attitude to quickly adapt to the team and the series.”

By following this path, Badoer is following in the footsteps of his father, Luca, who made 50 starts in F1, driving for Lola, Minardi, and Forti in the 1990s. He also made two appearances for Ferrari as a replacement for Felipe Massa.