Round 2 Post Feature Race, thoughts from the Top 3

FIA formula 3: Hello and welcome to the press conference of the Top 3 finishers here in Monte Carlo. In third place we have Freddie Slater from TRIDENT, second is Théophile Naël from Campos Racing and taking the win today is Brando Badoer from Rodin Motorsport. Brando, a win in Monaco just how to you feel?

Brando Badoer: I’m very happy with this result. Winning in Monaco with F3 on Sunday is amazing. I’m very happy and thank you to everyone at Rodin who make this possible. I'm in Monaco. It feels great.

FIA Formula 3: Talk to us about the start, obviously super important, probably the most important of the season. You were flying and were able to get to the lead.

Badoer: Yeah, it was a great start. I was aware it had to happen at the start if I wanted to win the race. I tried to do my best, after what I learned on the sprint yesterday. Today it worked out, I led after T1 and managed the race from there.

FIA Formula 3: You looked strong all weekend. How can you and the team take this momentum into Barcelona and then the rest of the year as well? Badoer: It's definitely a valuable weekend considering what we have in front of us. We have a lot of rounds before the summer break now. It will be a lot of momentum. We need to stay grounded, work hard and try to extract the most from every round.

FIA Formula 3: How happy are you to be able to take your first win around Monte Carlo of all places? Badoer: It feels great. If I had to pick a race to win this year, it would be Monaco. I'm looking forward to having other memories like this.

FIA Formula 3: Thank you very much. Congratulations again. Théophile, coming to you. P2 today. Obviously, you started from pole, but you still got important points with the podium finish. Just talk to us about that start, because it looked like you had some wheelspin or something.

Théophile Nael: Yeah, it was a tough start to be honest. I think the reaction time was good, but then I had quite a lot of wheelspin on the second pace. We looked at some data and I already know what I must improve for the future for Barcelona. But we know that Monaco, for the grip, for the start, it is typical. I'm a bit disappointed for myself, but the pace over the weekend has been really, really strong. I'm looking forward to the next week.

FIA Formula 3: As in Melbourne, there's another weekend where you and Campos are able to demonstrate some great speed. Just how impressed have you been and how happy are you within the team? Nael: Yeah, I'm super happy, super confident with the team. They have been working really hard since the start of the year, so I'm really thankful to them. Last year, they were already a super strong team, Monaco. I just did my best to practise the quali. I've done a really good lap in quali, so yeah, I knew that. If I would have been in the lead, maybe the race would have been easier, but that's how it is. I'm still happy to take some points for the team.

FIA Formula 3: We head to Barcelona next, a venue that Campos has always done well. Just what are you expecting there? Nael: I think Barcelona was one of my strongest weekends last year as well. I'm looking forward to it. The post-season test and the pre-season test have been really, really strong. Let's see. It's going to be super hard, I think, as well. The tyre deg and tyre management is going to be the key there. Let's see. We have some days off before coming in.

FIA Formula 3: Well done again for today. Freddie, coming to you now. You seemed like you were having fun out there, going for some fastest laps. Just talk to us about your race.

Freddie Slater: For me, it was obviously a bit of a difficult one. Still a good result in the end, but as you know, around Monaco, it's very difficult to overtake. I tried yesterday. It didn't quite work. I made a mistake. I think I learned a lot from that, from my side especially. Today, I just did a clean job. Obviously, I knew there was one point up for fastest laps, so that was the goal at that point, to try and get the fastest lap. I think that was the goal for everybody on the grid at that point once the race settled down. I was doing what everyone else was doing at points, but it's just how Monaco goes. It's qualifying where the race was won and lost, and also the start. Brando had a great start, and so did I to be honest, but as you know, T1 is very tight. It's just how it goes around there.

FIA Formula 3: You've been able to fight at the front in both Melbourne and here. I know they're both street tracks, but they're very different. What are you expecting in Barcelona?

Freddie Slater: I think it's been a very positive start to the season, especially for my first time racing in Formula 3 this year. To come in and be on the pace straight away in Melbourne, and straight away here in Monaco in Free Practise we were very strong. I think it's a very positive thing for myself to be able to adapt and get on with the pace very quickly. Barcelona is going to be a very different, completely different type of track. People have probably been there a million times in their racing careers, so everyone's pretty level there, and the gaps in qualifying are going to be very small. Also, it should be very hot as well, so degradation can be very high.

FIA Formula 3: It's your second Feature Race podium of the season, keeping that streak alive. How important is consistency in F3?

Freddie Slater: F3 is the most chaotic championship I've ever watched, and also been a part of. For me, it's super important just to keep finishing where you can, just maximising. If a P4 is on the table, you've got to take the P4, and if a podium's there, you've got to take the podium. For me, it's just important to be consistent at all times, and we've done that so far.

FIA Formula 3: Thank you very much.