After a brave move on Theophile Nael in Turn 1 secured Brando Badoer an iconic maiden Formula 3 victory around the iconic circuit of Monaco.
Monaco has a deep history in motorsport, and though it now faces criticism for overtaking being nearly impossible, many drivers still consider it one of the dream circuits to stand on the top step of the podium.
This was a sentiment that Badoer shared with Motorsport Week and other media, “I’m very happy. It feels really special. The boys and I have been working really hard to be at the top and to be the first ones in Monaco. It feels great.
“If I had to pick a race to win this year, it would be Monaco. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to having other memories like this.”
A race decided on Saturday
Other drivers have said that Monaco is won or lost on Saturday, with overtaking so hard that the order rarely changes. Drivers know that the best chance at making up places is in the first lap, where the grid is bunched up together.
The Rodin Driver knew this and took it all into consideration ahead of the start of the race.
“It was a great start.” He said, “I was aware that it had to happen at the start if I wanted to win the race. I tried to do my best, even after what I learned during the sprint yesterday. Today it worked out. We led 0-31 and managed the race from there.”
Badoer agreed that Monaco is ‘particular’ in the type of racing that occurs around the winding streets.
“It’s a particular race even more than in the other rounds because the race is basically settled on Friday in qualifying. Then of course, if we are racing, it’s not something we want to race, but it’s different than in the other tracks for sure, we need to be more careful and precise.”
The Italian has had mixed results in the opening two rounds, with a podium in the Melbourne Sprint Race that turned to a pointless outing for the Feature.
This weekend, Badoer has collected a bigger haul of points, pushing him to fourth in the championship standings. The Rodin Driver described the weekend as ‘valuable’.
“It’s definitely a valuable weekend, also for what we have ahead. We have a lot of races before the summer break now. It will be a lot of momentum.
“We need to stay grounded, work hard, and try to extract the maximum from every run.”
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