The Italian beat pole-sitter Théophile Nael off the line and on the run to Turn 1, with the Frenchman having to settle for second place at the chequered flag. Freddie Slater completed the podium for TRIDENT.
AS IT HAPPENED
Nael was immediately passed by Badoer while Slater took to the escape road at the opening corner and filtered in behind the top two up the hill, with the remainder of the top five staying as they were on the grid.
Van Amersfoort Racing’s Bruno del Pino was able to make up a place, getting ahead of MP Motorsport’s Alessandro Giusti for P6 at Turn 1, but for the Frenchman’s teammate, his race was over soon after.
Tuukka Taponen found the barriers at the penultimate corner after an attempted pass by Maciej Gladysz left the Finn nowhere to go. That incident brought out the Safety Car on Lap 2.
With the MP cleared, racing resumed going onto Lap 5, with Badoer able to gap Nael comfortably, with the Frenchman under attack from Slater on the run to Turn 3.
By Lap 10, Badoer had escaped out of DRS range to the Campos driver behind, while Slater, Ugo Ugochukwu and Ernesto Rivera remained within a second of the car ahead.
Drivers inside the top 10 began to back off on some laps in order to generate enough space to attempt a fastest lap for the additional point. Slater was very happy with the balance of his TRIDENT, praising the car over team radio.
Lap 18 and Badoer looked unflappable out front, now two seconds clear of the field.
Further back in the pack, Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi was coming under serious pressure from Enzo Deligny in the fight for P15. The Thai driver had to defend into Turn 1 on Lap 21, and later missed the Turn 10-11 chicane, skipping across the run-off as the Frenchman behind turned the screw.
Nael spent the final five laps closing the gap to the leader back down to under a second, but the Rodin driver would not be denied, earning his first win in the Championship around the Principality.
Slater completed the podium behind Nael while Ugochukwu and Rivera ensured all three Campos’ were in the top five.
Bruno del Pino finished sixth for Van Amersfoort, followed by Giusti in P7, Pedro Clerot in eighth, Sprint Race winner Gerrard Xie in P9 and Noah Stromsted completing the points in 10th.
KEY QUOTE – Brando Badoer, Rodin Motorsport
“I was studying the start all evening with the guys yesterday and I executed it perfectly. I jumped to P1 at Turn 1 and then led the 27 laps. It was a very long race, I was hoping it ended a bit earlier and it felt long in the car, but winning in Monaco is one of my dreams come true! Really happy with the team and my performance. Thanks to everyone.”
THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Ugo Ugochukwu retains the lead of the Drivers’ Championship going onto 43 points. Bruno del Pino is P2 on 35, just a single point ahead of Freddie Slater in third. Brando Badoer’s win moves him up to P4 on 28 points, while Théophile Nael rounds out the top five drivers with 22 points.
Campos Racing extend their advantage at the top of the Teams’ Standings, moving onto 75 points. Van Amersfoort Racing are P2 with 47, while Rodin Motorsport jumps TRIDENT into third place, 44 points to 43. ART Grand Prix complete the top five with 31 points.
UP NEXT
The FIA Formula 3 campaign continues next weekend in Barcelona for Round 3 of the 2026 season, from June 12-14.
