Coming into the final round of the Formula 3 championship in Madrid, Freddie Slater told the media he’s reset and refocused after a difficult weekend in Monza.
With the championship coming down to the final round, Slater reflected on the battle that has raged throughout his rookie year.
Slater was marked early in the season as one of the F3 drivers to watch. With the Audi F1 team’s support behind him, each race came with scrutiny. From the opening race, he delivered.
For much of the first half of the season, he sat behind Ugo Ugochukwu in the standings, but momentum shifted away from the Campos driver and toward the TRIDENT driver. He took the championship lead in Budapest, with his consistency throughout the season paying off.
The championship fight
However, it isn’t the first time Slater has found himself up against Ugochukwu for a title. The duo went head-to-head for the Formula Regional Oceania Trophy ahead of their F3 seasons. Slater finished that campaign as the runner-up.
Looking at the rivalry he has and the ongoing battle, the Briton told the media, including Motorsport Week, that it’s been ‘enjoyable’ to fight for another title.
“It’s been really enjoyable. We know we’ve found ourselves in another opportunity to win another championship in my career, which is very special. So it’s been a really productive season.”
2026 is Slater’s rookie season on the F3 grid, making his progress all the more impressive. He reflected on the work and steps he’s taken across the season, believing he’s matured and improved race by race.
“I think I’ve definitely developed a lot as a driver and matured.” He said. “There are definitely certain things that I’ve improved on throughout the year or acknowledged, let’s say, that are definitely going to help me in my future.”
“So as I look at it as a year of learning to become a better driver and try and develop myself into a better driver, I think it’s been pretty positive on that front. It’s definitely when I look back a year ago, I’ve definitely improved a lot. So now we just carry this forward.”
Woes in Monza
Monza was a difficult weekend for the championship hopeful, who, despite starting on pole, suffered an issue with his tyre and plummeted down through the order. Meanwhile, Ugohukwu, who had started from the back of the field, managed to take the final points positions, incrementally closing the gap.
Slater admitted that it was a difficult weekend and if he loses the championship it may play on his mind, but he cannot let himself dwell on it now.
“It could cost me the championship.” He told the media, including Motorsport Week, “But at the end of the day, that’s motorsport.
“Some days it goes your way; some days it doesn’t. And the motorsport gods on that day decided it wasn’t my time to put a nice big points gap between Hugo and me going into Madrid.
“So that’s part of it. Now we reset, refocus, and unite as a team. We take that on the chin. Now we focus on Madrid. We need to execute well in qualifying, put ourselves in a good position going into the races.
“So Monza’s in the history now, and we don’t look back on that, and we focus on this weekend.”
Reflection on 2026
When asked by Motorsport Week to rate his season ahead of the finale, Slater gave himself a confident 10/10. The young Briton was happy with the way he’s hit the ground running in his rookie season. Not just matching but beating drivers with more experience in the category.
“It has been a 10 out of 10, to be honest. As a rookie driver, for the performances we have had, to put ourselves in a championship fight like this, with the results as well. We’ve had eight podiums and eight weekends.
“In qualifying, we’ve always been at the front; we’ve had four front rows in four weekends. I think I’ve done a really good job as a rookie to kind of get on level with the pace of the experienced second-year drivers, but then also manage the situations when I got given them in certain scenarios. “
Slater went on to say that he’s proud of himself and, though there have been struggles or bad weekends, he acknowledged that it’s part of the nature of F3 and he’d be happy with how he handled everything.
“I’m actually very proud of my year, very proud of myself as well, the way I’ve handled it.
“There have been a lot of things out of our control that have gone wrong, which would have put us in a much better position. So generally when I look back on it, it’s been a great season, definitely one I’ll remember.”
It falls to Slater now to complete the final weekend and win the championship. With three races across the weekend and over 60 points on the cards, he’ll have ample opportunity to impress teams and sponsors, and further Audi’s support of him into 2027.
READ MORE: Ugo Ugochukwu heads into the F3 Spanish GP weekend with ‘nothing to lose’
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