The lowdown on this year’s FIA F3 title protagonists

During the FIA Formula 3 summer break, Freddie Slater told Autosport that the penultimate round at Monza would be “like going to the casino” and the triple-header Madring finale would be “a pretty crazy weekend.” Those words proved to be very prophetic. And not in a good way for last year’s Formula Regional European Championship conqueror.

At the time F3 rookie Slater uttered them, he was sitting atop the standings, eight points clear of fellow ADD Management protege Ugo Ugochukwu and miles ahead of the rest. And then the wheels started to fall off for Slater - quite literally. Having taken a podium in the Monza sprint race, Slater was dealt a rotten hand in the feature contest when his right-rear wheel detached itself, putting the Trident racer out. Eighth for Ugochukwu, meanwhile, meant Slater’s lead still stood at 15 points ahead of the Spanish showdown.

But Slater’s misfortune continued into Madrid as he could only qualify 17th and eighth. “He had an issue with the throttle pedal damper in practice which meant the throttle was really bouncy - and it makes it worse when it’s a street circuit,” explains ADD director Fraser Sheader. “The team changed the damper for qualifying but he ended up having a really slow response so the throttle was sticking. It was a bit of a mess where the car wasn’t doing what it should’ve been.”

Slater has demonstrated supreme racecraft over the years so it would normally be expected for him to bounce back from such a setback. But the Madring was not a normal circuit, with its layout featuring a dearth of overtaking opportunities. Slater ended up crashing out of the second race and could only manage 18th and eighth in the other two as he ultimately lost out to Ugochukwu by 14 points amid several outbursts on the radio. “As Fred always does, he gave it everything and ended up spinning in the second race but it was a race to take more risks,” Sheader reflects. “I have nothing but admiration for him having a go. It was a painful weekend.”

Nevertheless, it was still a strong season for the Audi junior that featured a brilliant run of podium finishes at every event, which was only ended in Madrid. “Sometimes you’ve got to accept it and say you gave it a fair crack,” Sheader notes, adding the way Slater got up to speed as a rookie was particularly impressive. “If you look at his career, all the way through he’s gone up early and got straight on with it and never taken any time at all to adapt. What Fred delivered was a consequence of the work he’s put in over the previous years.”

While Ugochukwu certainly profited from Slater’s final-round struggles, the Campos driver had earned the right to be in that position. The American’s single-seater career had previously been punctuated by star performances - like taking Macau Grand Prix victory in 2024 - alongside some more underwhelming results. Ugochukwu was only 16th in the FIA F3 standings in his rookie campaign last year, but Sheader believes Prema’s struggles with the new car masked his true potential.

He hit the ground running this year with a win at the Australia opener, but later began to struggle a little. “The middle of the year he started thinking a bit too much about the championship and, as soon as he realised that wasn’t the right approach, he was very strong,” Sheader says.

Slater could not bounce back from his Madring finale setbacks

This year also marked a significant season in Ugochukwu’s career as it was his first outside of the McLaren Driver Development Programme. Sheader explains it was a collective decision for him to step back with no immediate prospect of an F1 drive at the Woking squad with Lando Norris, another ADD star, and Oscar Piastri firmly ensconced. “Ugo’s always been clear he doesn’t want to become an IndyCar or WEC driver, he’s got a sole focus for now on getting to F1,” adds Sheader. “There was nowhere for him to go so we decided to get him back in the open market early. If anything, it gave him more focus to go out there and prove he’s a worthy guy.

“We’re now having conversations with various teams. We’re not looking to sign him to another academy, because that’s not what we’re looking for, it’s a race seat option. Those conversations we’re having are serious ones. Being American and how talented he is, he’s in a very good position.”

While that is looking further ahead, despite the F3 campaign not long having concluded, both drivers are already focusing on continuing their rivalry in F2 next year. Slater has been confirmed at the Invicta squad that current points leader and new Haas recruit Rafael Camara races for, while Ugochukwu’s programme is due to be formally announced soon.

"The way they approach life in general is almost the opposite. They’re very different characters but do the actual job in a similar way" Fraser Sheader

That Ugochukwu continues to march up the single-seater ladder is impressive when you cannot help but notice his height. Yet Sheader insists this has not held his driver back, and even brings some benefits. “There have been concerns about his height, but no problems,” Sheader explains. “While he’s close to two metres tall, he gets in the car. He’s twisted up like a pretzel in there! But, from a weight distribution point of view, he’s very good because he’s so leggy, he’s very favourable in terms of how he fits. He just doesn’t have a lot of room to manoeuvre.”

The contrasting heights of Ugochukwu and Slater is one of their differences, but they also have very different personalities. While the new F3 champion is a man of few words, Slater certainly is not. “The way they approach life in general is almost the opposite,” Sheader smiles. “They’re very different characters but do the actual job in a similar way.”

Sheader acknowledges that job is going to get a whole lot more challenging next season. “F2 is another level again with a lot more variables,” he says. “If F3 has 10 variables, F2 probably has 100 in terms of different tyre compounds, different fuel burn rates, a much more tricky car to get the most out of, and carbon brakes. This will be the biggest challenge in year one to go in and do the job.” But that is exactly what both drivers will be looking to do. However, with Monza and Madring also on the F2 calendar in 2027, Slater will be seeking a better hand at the Italian casino and to benefit from any Madring craziness next time around.  

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P2 in the second Madring feature race sealed the title for Ugochukwu

Photo by: Dom Gibbons / Formula 1 via Getty Images