Italian racing driver Brando Badoer, who is currently racing for Van Amersfoort Racing in the Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA), joins the McLaren Development programme.
McLaren Racing announced today that 18-year-old Badoer, son of former F1 Driver Luca Badoer, has joined its development programme. For the upcoming 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship Badoer will join fellow McLaren Driver Development programme driver Ugo Ugochukwu on the grid at PREMA.
McLaren already had their eyes on the young Italian, signing an option with the Badoer in October 2023. Since then, the 18-year-old stood on the podium 7 times also scoring 5 consecutive second place finishes between the rounds in Zandvoort and Mugello this season.
McLaren Racing was apparently convinced by Badoer’s performance in FRECA, where he is currently placed 5th ahead of the last round in Monza and decided to exercise their option by signing Badoer for their programme.
The McLaren Driver Development programme headed by F1 Business Operations Director, Stephanie Carlin, welcomed Badoer to the fold.
“It’s great to welcome Brando to our Driver Development programme. We’ve kept a close eye on him over the past year and have been impressed with his performances as a rookie in the competitive Formula Regional championship, so it made sense to exercise our option and bring him into the programme full time. We look forward to seeing him racing in papaya and supporting his development as he moves to compete in the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Prema Racing.”
Badoer, who made his single-seater debut with AKM in the Formula 4 UAE Championship Motorsport while at same time also racing with Van Amersfoort Racing in the Italian F4 Championship in 2022, is excited to join McLaren and continue his motorsport journey.
“I am excited to join the McLaren Driver Development programme. It’s a fantastic opportunity to join a team with such a great racing heritage and a proven record for developing talent. Competing in the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship with Prema Racing will help continue my progression and I’d like to thank the whole team at McLaren for their support. I can’t wait to learn from the team’s guidance and get racing in the team’s iconic colours.”
The 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship, where we will see Badoer racing with Prema, is set to start in Melbourne, Australia on March 14th 2025.
