Freddie Slater: 'Pole is the goal' after flying start to Spa weekend

Freddie Slater has his eyes firmly set on the top spot in Qualifying after hitting the ground running around Spa-Francorchamps.

The TRIDENT driver wound up fastest overall in Free Practice, setting a 2:06.311 and speaking after the session, the Briton talked through what had been a hugely positive session.

"It felt really positive for me," he said. "The team gave me a great car straight away, the first lap was really strong and then towards the end it got a little bit chaotic with all the fighting for track position. I think we all know what to expect for qualifying, but I think it was a really positive start for me as well.

"I think my first couple of laps were really strong. I managed to deliver and get on the limit straight away. I'm very proud of what we did, and now we need to build on that into qualifying."

Plenty of drivers struggled to find time late on in the Practice session as the tyres began to give up the best of their grip, and battles for track position began to play out.

Slater says that it will be a game of patience in Qualifying, as making a split-second decision in a panic could throw the tyres out of their ideal operating window and cost lap time.

"It's tough to say, because the fuel effect here is quite a lot, so between the first run and second run, it's quite a big step in terms of lap time, so I think you can't really just go on the first run and expect it to be the lap.

"Of course, you need to just maximise every lap possible and see where you end up. There's going to be a lot of things out of our control in this session. You need to just try and put yourself in the best position and stay out of trouble and then see where we end up.

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"It's really difficult, especially with all the different setups between the teams as well. There's 30 cars on track, you're trying to manage as best as possible who wants to go in the front and who doesn't.

"Nobody wants to go in the front, as you can see, so it's very tricky, but it's part of the sport. I just remember coming out of T7 and 8, and then I went into 10, then I went into 12, and I just remember seeing more and more cars behind me each time I checked.

"It was like the whole grid was behind me at one point. I know I just had to wait a little bit longer, and then luckily a couple of cars came through anyway because they wanted to get some laps under their belt, so I managed to get a decent track position for the last lap.

"The tyres were a little bit off at that point, so I couldn't quite improve, but yeah, I think you've just got to be patient. I think if you make a panic decision, then that's when it goes wrong, so I think patience is going to be the key."

Slater is yet to take a victory in FIA Formula 3, but has been a near constant presence on the podium this season.

He is eager to take that first victory and says that even if he misses out on the top spot in Qualifying later on Friday, he rates his chances around the famous Spa circuit.

"I think pole is the goal, especially after Practice, it was really positive, and we've had a good run throughout the whole year, and now we're starting to find a bit more consistency, and I've become more comfortable with the car weekend by weekend as I've gained more experience.

"So, of course pole is very important, but for me, you can race from anywhere here because it's a chaotic track, with lots of slipstream, and now a new DRS zone, so it's even more exciting."