Why a more open mindset is making life less stressful for serial winner Slater

Freddie Slater is used to winning. During his meteoric rise up the junior ladder, the sight of Slater standing on the top step of the podium has become an incredibly familiar one – whether that was breaking records en route to Ginetta Junior glory, blitzing the Italian Formula 4 opposition or claiming a sequence of triumphs in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine. 

But this season has been different. Yes, he still occupies that familiar first place in the standings heading towards the conclusion of his latest campaign – this time in FIA F3 – but he has taken ‘only’ one victory all year. Instead, this championship challenge has been constructed in an entirely contrasting manner in a series that Slater describes as one of the “coolest” around. 

“You’ve got so many cars, the cars sound incredible and they’re enjoyable to drive,” explains the 18-year-old. “There’s a lot of different factors in there – the massive tyre degradation is a completely different learning curve that you have to deal with. In other categories you have a lot of testing so you have the knowledge of what it’s going to feel like. In this, you just go out and feel a bit of oversteer or a bit of understeer and have to deal with it. The teams also have so much they can play with on the cars as they’re such complex cars and so sensitive.” 

With all that in mind, Slater says he has learned a huge amount this year and adopted a completely different mindset. “I think one of the hardest things for me has been the patience,” admits the BRDC SuperStar. “F3 is completely different – you have to sit back and let the race come to you because the tyre degradation is so high, if you push too much, you fall off the cliff. Through the season I’ve changed my mindset in terms of being more open-minded.

“I take a lot of blame on myself when things are tough but something I’ve learned this year is to go, ‘Actually, Fred, it’s not your fault.’ I’ve improved as a driver, before I was too self-critical. It’s about keeping things simple and this year’s been really good for my career. It’s been good to just develop during the year – I’m becoming a better driver round by round by learning.” 

This new mindset has not always come naturally to Slater – “Of course I want to win nine rounds,” he states – but he has realised that is simply not possible in a series so competitive and with as many variables as F3. Instead, he has focused on consistency. Only once has he qualified outside the top five and he has finished all bar one of the feature races so far on the podium, with the one occasion he missed out being an eighth place at Barcelona. 

It wasn’t until Hungary that Slater scored his first F3 victory, although “we’ve always been punching for that win”

Photo by: Dom Gibbons - Formula 1 via Getty Images

“Our podium streak in seven rounds for a rookie driver, that’s pretty abnormal,” says Slater. In fact it’s more than just abnormal – only one other driver since the series became FIA F3 in 2019 has matched Slater’s record of six feature-race podiums in a season: the 2024 champion Leonardo Fornaroli. 

“This season I knew it was going to be very tough to be on a par with the second-year drivers straight away because I don’t have experience of the tyres and the different factors,” Slater continues. “That’s part of the challenge of this year.” 

Nevertheless, it has been a challenge that Slater has risen to impressively. He was aided by a couple of cameo outings last year when he was called up at short notice, to at least get an idea of what to expect. But, with the Trident team, he signalled his 2026 intent by taking a runner-up finish at the Melbourne opener and has gradually risen up the standings to now lead Campos Racing’s Ugo Ugochukwu – the former McLaren junior now in his sophomore FIA F3 campaign – by eight points during the series’ summer break. 

“Other drivers have started to look around and worry about where people have qualified – we’re just focusing on ourselves. The pressure isn’t on us” Freddie Slater

A key result came last time out at the Hungaroring in July when Slater achieved his first victory. “We’ve always been punching for that win,” he reflects. “Trident have struggled a little bit in terms of race pace and we’re trying to improve and we’ve worked really well together to maximise what we’ve had on that day. The team did an amazing job in Budapest. The win was very nice and controlled.” 

That result truly propelled Slater into the title fight, not that he has been paying much attention to the points table. “I’m not even thinking about the championship, I just want to maximise my results,” he remarks with a relaxed air. “Other drivers have started to look around and worry about where people have qualified – we’re just focusing on ourselves. The pressure isn’t on us. I’m in my rookie year and I’m happy with my performances.” 

Perhaps another factor in that relaxed attitude is the fact that Slater has now added the guidance of an F1 team to his support group consisting of his long-serving performance coach Craig Boyd and the ADD Management team that also guided Lando Norris to the top.

Slater says he is not even thinking about the championship and just wants to maximise his results

Photo by: Dom Gibbons - Formula 1 via Getty Images

Slater was named as the very first member of Audi’s new driver development programme in January and is relishing being part of the F1 newcomer’s operation. He says it was a very deliberate decision to avoid signing with an F1 junior scheme too early in his career but feels “now is the right time”. And, as soon as talks with Audi began, he instantly knew that was where he wanted to be. 

“When I was meeting with Allan [McNish, Audi’s racing director] and Mattia [Binotto, team CEO] it just felt like a family, not a business, and that’s what I really enjoy about it,” Slater explains. “I felt like I was being brought into the team as their hope for the future. It wasn’t like I was going to work for them, I felt like I was representing Audi as a family. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else and I’m very grateful to have the Four Rings on my helmet, car and race suit.  

“Allan is a great driver and it’s very cool to have someone like him to have a chat to about racing. Giampaolo Dall’Ara [Audi’s head of race engineering] had lots of experience in F1 and he’s helped me understand the engineering part of things. It’s really cool to see the passion from them. They’re putting a lot of trust in me and I appreciate that.” 

Slater also adds that it was “very special” to be Audi’s very first junior, but he is not only receiving support from the German car giant. He is also part of the BRDC’s SuperStars programme, which Slater says has been “really enjoyable”. “It's such an amazing thing because the people are super helpful and super special and they help us in all sorts of ways,” he says. “They help us physically but also mentally with lots of little different things and they host some amazing events and charity events that help us massively in our careers to develop into better drivers.”

It’s clear that Slater is enjoying his journey up the ladder – and it no doubt helps when he and Ugochukwu have approaching double the points of the rest of the F3 field. But the happy environment Slater in which finds himself is no doubt helping his performances on the track. “You have to enjoy what you’re doing and enjoy the process of the weekend, doing the media and getting up at half-four to go to the track,” he insists. “Enjoy it and remember it. The extra pressure of fighting for a championship doesn’t come to me because I’m just enjoying it.” 

Looking ahead to the remaining rounds, Slater says he is “buzzing” for the conclusion of the season. “Monza is going to be like going to the casino and Madrid has over 60 points available on one weekend so that’s a pretty crazy weekend,” he predicts of the triple-header finale. “I’m very excited for that one.”

He may not be breaking any win records this year, but there’s no doubting that Slater is enjoying once again underlining how strong his credentials are.

This article is one of many in the monthly Autosport magazine. For more premium content, take a look at the September 2026 issue and subscribe today.

Slater remarks on “pretty abnormal” achievement of finishing on podium in all bar one of feature races so far

Photo by: Dom Gibbons / Formula 1 via Getty Images