Slater: ‘Difficult but positive’ start in Budapest as he eyes three consecutive Pole Positions

Freddie Slater was the driver to beat in the opening session around the Hungaroring, topping Free Practice for TRIDENT on a 1:33.947.

The Briton was fighting for top spot throughout the session in Budapest, as he got his weekend off on the front foot, but says it was far from straightforward from the cockpit.

“It was a very difficult session, honestly,” he said afterwards. “A few Red Flags, hopefully everybody's all good, but it was a tricky session.

“The track is very dusty, very difficult to drive and very windy, very hot, very bumpy. There's a lot of factors out there and Qualifying is going to be completely different on the medium tyres. It’s going to be a big swing in track evolution, but a positive session overall.”

Slater was very happy to have made such a positive start to the weekend with the Championship battle reaching its final stages.

He closed the gap down to points leader Ugo Ugochukwu to a single point leaving Round 6, and is aiming to pull clear by the time the chequered flag falls on Sunday.

However, the TRIDENT driver says the positive momentum won’t be taken for granted, as he and the team look to build momentum heading into the all-important Qualifying session later on.

“It’s super important, especially with some of these tracks I've driven in previous categories, but not in this car.

“So, it's very important for me in Free Practice to get that understanding of what's underneath me and feel the car underneath me and just get used to this car on this track and then maximise the pace at that point.

“That gives us a good advantage, let's say, or stepping stone into Qualifying.”

The Audi Development Driver has been fastest in Free Practice this time last week around Spa, and he then went on to take Pole Position for the Feature Race.

Though the goal remains the same, Slater says that he won’t be reading too much into the times from Practice, with a switch to the Medium compound tyre and track evolution coming into play.

“For me, it's not overanalysing too much because I think it's going to swing so much that you just need to keep it simple and do the job and feel the grip out there when you go out in Qualifying.

“It's going to be completely different, so we'll just have to adapt when we get out of there. A good result is really important before getting to the summer break, but I wouldn't say it's make-or-break.

“I think we just need to maximise the potential and maximise the opportunities that are given this weekend and then see where we end up.”