Pedro Clerot on Rodin potential, F1 driver experience and his biggest challenge yet

Arriving as the team’s only rookie for 2026, Pedro Clerot says joining Rodin Motorsport in FIA Formula 3 is ‘the biggest step’ in his career to date.

The Brazilian driver partners the returning Christian Ho and Brando Badoer, and says that the signs are already positive as preparations continue for the upcoming campaign.

Before pre-season testing gets underway later this month in Barcelona, Clerot explained what he’s been up to in the break and why he’s feeling optimistic

“Since the last three post-season tests there has been a lot of hours spent on the sim, lots of hours in the gym as well. It's been mostly about that.

“I've been travelling a lot between Portugal and the UK, just really trying to prepare myself with the team. We spent a lot of time together during the winter break, which was really, really good.

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“I got to spend more time with my engineer, with the wider team, which was pretty positive. We got a chance to look over the data that we gathered over the three tests, and we could see what we did right, what we could improve and what we could work on. It's been nice. I'm excited for the season to start, I cannot wait. I'm getting bored already of not driving.

“It's the biggest step of my career so far, so I'm really, really excited and really looking forward to it.”

Clerot added that the level of the F3 grid is an exciting challenge to be taking on, and that it will be the small details that make the difference in 2026.

Along with the step up itself, the 19-year-old says that working with a team that has developed future F1 drivers is another hugely motivating factor.

“I know it's a very challenging championship and the level is, I would say, probably the highest it's been in the last few years. Over the tests, we could really see how much the drivers could make a difference and how much you need to be on top of everything. So, I'm really excited.

“It's a really big step in my career, it's very special. All the background that the team has, all these drivers they have worked with that have made it into F1 and as professional drivers, they worked with the people I'm working with right now. The knowledge that the team has and is now passing on to me, and I'm learning so much with them.”

Looking ahead to the pre-season test in Barcelona, Clerot says that getting back into a rhythm will be crucial, before work begins to refine setups and make progress from where the team left off in post-season testing in 2025.

“The first thing is just being back in the car, you know? It's a big test. So, we're going to see how everything feels, what we're looking like and then from there, we have our test plans that we want to do.

“We want to test some stuff out that we couldn't do last year, maybe we could try to do something new. So, we have a good plan and setup. I won’t give too many details, but we have some really good stuff already from last year, and things that are already in place.

“We're focused on working on the other parts where we saw we were lacking a little bit. Also, driving-wise, I have a couple of things I need to work on and develop.

“So, it'll be good to have these three days before Melbourne, for sure. It's just really getting back into the car and having things in a good place.”