After Verstappen, Magnussen and Montoya, another familiar name returns
McLaren
F1 News
Brando Badoer, son of former F1 driver Luca Badoer, has joined the McLaren Driver Development programme after the team exercised its option on the Italian. The 18-year-old will compete in the 2025 Formula 3 Championship for Prema Racing alongside fellow McLaren Driver Development programme member Ugo Ugochukwu.
Badoer will want to add his name to the list of famous sons after Max Verstappen, Kevin Magnussen and others have recently impressed. Juan-Pablo Montoya's son is also working his way through the ranks.
The team had previously signed an option on the 18-year-old, who currently competes in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA). The Woking-based team has been evaluating Badoer's performances over a 12-month period and has opted to exercise that option. He will join the McLaren Driver Development programme immediately.
During the 2024 pre-season, Brando achieved three podiums in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship, before moving up to FRECA with Van Amersfoort Racing. To date, he has achieved seven podiums with five second-place finishes and two third places. McLaren has, therefore, decided to sign Luca Badoer's son.
Why did McLaren opt to sign Brando Badoer?
Badoer has impressed McLaren. "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," Stephanie Carlin, Director, F1 Business Operations said.
Badoer himself is excited to join the programme and wants to add his name to the list of successful drivers from McLaren, which includes Lando Norris. "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," he said.
The young Badoer will want to break through to Formula 1. If he succeeds, the Italian will of course want to do better than his father Luca. He drove 50 Grands Prix (in 59 GP weekends), in which he did not score a single point. That is the most races and most laps (2364) without scoring a point. Incidentally, using the current points system, Badoer would've scored 26 points.