Freddie Slater secured his second consecutive FIA Formula 3 (F3) pole position at Spa-Francorchamps, but the TRIDENT driver knows he will need to convert his latest qualifying success into a victory.
After taking pole at his home round at Silverstone, Slater repeated the feat in a chaotic, rain-affected session in Belgium.
The Briton set the fastest time on the opening runs before worsening conditions and a Red Flag prevented the field from improving.
Speaking in the FIA F3 post-Qualifying press conference, attended by Pit Debrief, Slater explained how difficult it was to make the right decisions as the rain began to fall before the session even started.
“Yeah, it was a difficult session for everyone. I think we saw the drops of rain, let’s say, when we were five minutes before going green. And then you’re just thinking, do you do out-warm-up? Do you do out-push? You don’t know. And then you see what everyone else is doing. And everyone thought, let’s go out, push.
“So then you followed the group and then you realise you’ve got one lap at that point that the tyre really lasts. And I managed to do a really good lap. I was very happy with the lap. It was very on the limit, very controlled in the high speed.
“So no real margin for track limits, which is kind of the key in those sort of situations. So very happy with the job we did.”
Change of tyre compound making differences from FP to Qualifying
The first flying laps proved decisive, with the rain continuing to increase as the session progressed.
Slater also highlighted the importance of fuel loads around Spa-Francorchamps during Qualifying, with the F3 grid attempting to prepare for a second run before conditions began to deteriorate.
“And then obviously, it was a bit chaotic. And with the fuel load around here, it makes quite a big difference. So you’re always getting them prepared for the second run. And then the rain came and then also a lot of chaos. So, yeah, it was a difficult session for everyone.”
Although Slater had also shown strong pace during Free Practice, the TRIDENT driver explained that the change from the Hard tyre to the Medium compound meant the car felt significantly different in Qualifying.
“The Championship made changes. We had a completely different type of tyre for the Qualifying session. We had a Medium tyre, in the Practice we had Hards. So the car balance was completely different now.
“And also the track has F1, F2. So now the track has changed another level. And it’s always difficult as drivers to wake up in one lap and try and get on with it. So, yeah, very happy with what the team did. And they tried to manage it in the best way possible.”
Slater eyeing first F3 victory in 2026
Slater has now secured back-to-back poles but is still searching for his first FIA Formula 3 victory. The Briton believes a few more things simply need to fall his way.
“Hopefully a few more things to go our way. Yeah, recently, a few things have not been going quite right that probably cost us probably getting that first win. But that’s motorsport at the end of the day.
“And I think we’re doing a really good job in terms of pace at the moment. And now we need to just keep converting the points and racking up the points and then see where we end up in a couple of rounds time.”
Slater’s pole position came after a session that ended prematurely following an incident involving several drivers who had slowed while searching for the ideal track position and slipstream.
With similar issues also appearing during the F3 Free Practice session, Slater was asked whether Qualifying should be changed at Spa-Francorchamps, potentially by splitting the field into two groups as is done at Monaco and Monza.
“It’s very tough to say and it’s very hard to avoid, you know, we’ve got 30 cars on track on such a crucial track for the tow so it’s hard to say what can be done and I’m sure the stewards and the FIA will do a good job of trying to analyse it and see what they can come up with.”
Consistency underlying his rookie campaign
Slater’s consistency has been one of the defining features of his rookie FIA Formula 3 season.
The TRIDENT driver has qualified inside the top 12 at every round so far and has already collected five podium finishes from the opening five weekends.
Pit Debrief asked Slater how satisfied he was with his consistency during his rookie campaign.
“To be in my rookie season and be doing what we’re doing, we’ve had five podiums in five weekends and we’ve had now however many Qualifyings in the top 12, I think is a really positive season for me and very good for my rookie season.
“Now we need to keep it up and every weekend needs to be the same and it doesn’t mean now we kind of relax. We need to keep pushing, keep pushing forward and we’re just gonna keep trying to maximise the job that we can.”
The new third DRS zone will also add another variable to Sunday’s Feature Race.
When asked by Pit Debrief on what the biggest challenge could be to converting his pole position into a Feature Race victory, Slater believes the extra overtaking opportunity could make the race particularly unpredictable.
“I think it’s the three DRS zones that we’ve got now so I think that’s gonna spice things up and add another factor into the racing. We saw at the Red Bull Ring with three DRS zones. There’s a lot of chaos and yeah, I think that’s probably the main main factor, let’s say.”
First wet qualifying for F3 in 2026
The rain also created a different challenge for the drivers, although the opening runs were completed on a largely dry circuit.
Slater explained that the threat of worsening conditions influenced the decision to push immediately, with the drivers aware that their first attempt could ultimately prove decisive.
“Yes, and there’s a lot to consider. It was dry on the first run when we all did our best laps. I think it was just more than we were scared more rain was coming so that made us kind of go to an outpush sequence and then do two in a row, let’s say.
“But then after that, you know once we had the pit stop the rain starts come more and more, and then from then on was just kind of it was gonna be tough to beat the lap times that we already set in the first run.
“Obviously the Red Flag kind of stopped everything and then got a lot more wet. And then of course, you’re never gonna improve on that time so yeah, I think and it just ended like that.”
Track position important at Spa
For Slater, the importance of track position was clear from the moment the cars left the pit lane. With the slipstream playing such a major role around Spa-Francorchamps, finding the right position on track could be the difference between pole position and missing out on the top 10 in F3.
“Yeah, track position here is super important. It’s kind of make or break. It’s very difficult to really get pole position without it or even in the top 10 really sometimes.
“So it was always an important factor we knew coming into the weekend. It’s going to be like this, it’s going to be like this for however long, even in a championship. So yeah, it’s probably one of the most crucial parts of qualifying if I’m honest.
“And then you just need to kind of do a 98% lap and if you have good track position, you’re there or thereabouts.”
After securing his second consecutive pole position during Qualifying, Slater now has another opportunity to finally convert his pace and consistency into a maiden FIA F3 victory in the Spa-Francorchamps Feature Race.
However, with three DRS zones and a long race ahead, the TRIDENT driver knows that pole position will only be the beginning of the challenge at Spa-Francorchamps.
