Interview
‘I know the goal’ – Slater previews rookie Formula 3 campaign and talks Audi F1 signing
Freddie Slater says he knows what he has to do to have a successful 2026 FIA Formula 3 season, as he talked about becoming the first member of the newly formed Audi Development Driver Programme.
The British driver is joining TRIDENT for his first full campaign in F3 and comes into the year with a strong reputation in single seater racing.
Slater won the 2024 Italian and UAE F4 Championships, and in 2025 became the Formula Regional European Champion.
Looking ahead to 2026, Slater, now racing with the support of the Audi F1 team, spoke of his excitement at jumping back into the car.
“It's a very cool year coming up,” said Slater prior to the 2025 pre-season test. “I'm very excited to just get going.
“It's been a long time since I've been in this car, so it's just a very cool moment to kind of finally be starting. Let's say the preparations have started way long ago, but it's nice to now put that into work and get in the car.
“Melbourne's not far away either, and I also have Audi backing me now and helping me develop as a driver. It's very cool, it's been a very cool 2026 so far.”
In addition to joining Audi, it has been a busy start to 2026 for the Briton, having raced in the Formula Regional Oceania Trophy, finishing second in the Championship.
“I've had a pretty crazy first part of 2026,” acknowledged Slater, who raced against several drivers in New Zealand he will be competing against in Formula 3.
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The 17-year-old missed out on the title to Ugo Ugochukwu, who was also his teammate in those four weeks, and raced against the likes of Louis Sharp, Jin Nakamura, Kanato Le and several other 2026 F3 drivers.
While Slater acknowledged the competition element of driving in New Zealand, it was what he learned about himself that was most important for him.
“Yeah, to be honest, we knew the drivers going out there were going to be very good,” he said. “Obviously, we had a few different ones, we had rally drivers and a supercar driver on the grid.
“For me, it wasn't the easiest first two weeks, especially. We had lots of issues, some self-inflicted, some out of our control, and it made it very difficult.
“But I think overall, I learned so much about myself and the way to approach certain things, especially for the Formula 3 season. So it's going to be good fun to see what happens this year, and I'm sure it'll be intense and you know who's going to be at the front.
“But I'm also sure there's going to be loads of other people that are fast. So you just got to go into it with a level mindset, and whatever happened in Oceania, it's kind of reset again.”
Slater’s attention now turns to hitting the ground running in Melbourne for the start of his F3 campaign. His reset appears to have worked as he was quickest on Days 1 and 2 of pre-season testing.
When asked if he has an idea of what it will take from his side to be fighting for the Championship in 2026, Slater responded: “I have a small idea.
“I'm not fully sure yet, but I know the goal. I can see what you have to do to win the Championship, that's for sure. I think it's just eliminating those little mistakes and the damage limitation in the bad times.
“Maybe you might win a ridiculous amount of races one year if it's all going your way. But that's not motorsport half the time. So for me, it's about picking off the good results.
“When the bad ones happen, limiting them. So, if a bad result is the fifth, then finish fifth, don't finish tenth. Don't make it worse.
“So I think that's going to be really important. I'm excited to get going now, honestly. It needs to hurry up.”