Freddie Slater secured his third pole position of the 2026 FIA Formula 3 (F3) season at Monza, putting himself in the best possible position for Sunday’s Feature Race as the championship battle enters its final stages.
The TRIDENT driver topped Group B with a 1:38.114 to claim the Aramco Pole Position Award, while teammate Matteo De Palo had initially topped Group A with a 1:38.143. However, De Palo was later disqualified from the qualifying session for a technical infringement.
Nicola Lacorte was classified second in Group B, while Slater’s Group B time ultimately put him on pole for the Feature Race.
Speaking in the 2026 FIA F3 post-qualifying press conference at Monza, with Pit Debrief in attendance, Slater reflected on a challenging session that saw track temperatures rise significantly from the morning, while the importance of track position and the slipstream added another layer to qualifying.
“Yes, definitely very challenging. Obviously, this morning we had, I think, around 30-degree track temperature, and this afternoon it was 55, so there was a big swing in track conditions and definitely a different balance.
“The team had to give us a car that could be in the window. At the end of the day, we had one lap to deliver, and we did the job and got nice track position as well. I’m very happy with the job we did, and I look forward to the weekend.”
Monza slipstream proving crucial
With the Monza slipstream once again proving crucial, Slater was quick to praise TRIDENT Team Manager Giacomo for keeping the strategy under control as the session developed.
“Giacomo, the Team Manager, did a really good job, honestly. Hats off to him for what he did. He had all the situations covered. He kept me up to date with how much margin we had, whether we could do two push laps or one push lap, and the sequence.
“The run plan was changing every minute, every second. Hats off to the team for being calm under pressure and giving me the opportunity to go out there and do what I do. From then on, it was my job to put in a clean lap, in a good position with a good tow, and hopefully get pole at the end of the day.”
The unusual qualifying strategy also left Slater with just one opportunity to set his time, although the TRIDENT driver admitted they would never know whether the tyres could have delivered another push lap.
“I think so, but we only did one, so we’ll never know. We also only did one out-lap, which is not always normal. It was straight out into a first push, which is not easy for drivers, especially when you have a corner like Turn 1 as the first braking zone. It definitely wasn’t easy for anyone, and it all came down to execution.”
Both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships on the line for 2026
The pole initially gave TRIDENT a front-row lockout for the 2026 F3 Monza Feature Race, with De Palo set to start alongside Slater before his subsequent disqualification changed the order.
With both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships still on the line, Pit Debrief asked Slater how important it was to have another TRIDENT car fighting at the front and whether the pair could work together to maximise the team’s points haul.
“Yeah, for me, of course, I’m fighting for a championship. But there’s a team championship that we need to try and win as well for the team. We want to clean up. We want to win both championships at the end of the day. That’s the aim of the team. And we’re going to try and do everything we can from now until the end of the season to make that happen.
“So yeah, for sure, me and Matteo are going to be pushing hard on Sunday to try and bring the most amount of points for the team. I look forward to that race. And it should be a good battle. And yeah, hopefully, we can close down for the team.”
Slater’s maiden F3 victory in Budapest
Slater’s pole comes just weeks after he secured his maiden F3 victory in Budapest, a result that finally put a win on the board after a consistent season at the sharp end of the championship. However, rather than feeling that victory has lifted the pressure from his shoulders, Slater sees it simply as the result of the improvements TRIDENT has made throughout the year.
Slater was asked whether securing that maiden victory before the summer break had changed his mindset heading into the final two rounds, and whether there was now less pressure to deliver.
“For me, no, not at all. I think I would have taken a championship or anything without a win. And I’m going to try and do that anyway. And I think for me, it’s not been a reliever of pressure or anything. I think it was just a chain of events. It came at the right time.
“From a media point of view, it looked like it was the perfect time for a summer break. But for myself, it was just because we had better execution, we had better race pace than we had the races before.
“And that’s the reason why we won on Sunday in Budapest. It wasn’t because suddenly, magically it came at the right time and it’s pressure kind of building up. So yeah, for me, it was more just kind of good race pace that we’ve definitely improved on over the season, because at the start of the season was definitely a bit of an issue.
“And now we just need to see what we can do and maximise every single result that we’ve been doing all year, because that’s been the attitude since day one. It’s just maximise every single result. If it’s a fifth, take the fifth. If it’s a win, take the win.
“And I think that’s what we’ve done really well all season to put ourselves in a position to win a championship. So yeah, now we need to just keep doing the same and keep rolling, see what we can get some results in.”
Championship implications between Slater and Ugochukwu
That mindset was put to the test again at the start of the 2026 F3 Monza Round for Slater, particularly with championship rival Ugo Ugochukwu enduring a difficult Friday.
Ugochukwu finished down the order in the sole Practice session, before a last minute collision with Matteo De Palo on the start-finish straight saw the American driver handed a 5-place grid drop for both the Sprint and Feature Races.
In Qualifying, he also finished down the order in Group A, giving Slater a significant opportunity to gain ground in the title fight. Despite that, Slater insisted he did not change his approach.
When asked by Pit Debrief whether Ugochukwu’s struggles and the chaotic nature of the session had affected his thought process or increased the pressure to deliver the perfect lap, Slater remained consistent with his approach.
“No, nothing changed for me. It’s the same job every single week, and it’s execution. And that’s what’s going to win the championship at the end of the day. And I think that’s what we’ve been there since Melbourne, doing the same thought process and putting ourselves in that kind of mental state, I guess you would call it, going into qualifying.
“Of course, I saw Ugo having a tough day. You know, practice wasn’t great for him. And then qualifying in Group A was obviously not great either. And I just knew then, obviously, if I finish at the front, it’s big, big points. If I don’t, then it is what it is.
“But then for me, it was just about getting out there to deliver what I can do. And we did that as a team and managed to walk away with the pole. So at the end of the day, it’s just another qualifying and another job done. So now we look forward to the races.”
Only one lap that proved decisive for Group B
Delivering that lap was made even more difficult by the timing of the final runs in Group B. The drivers waited until the closing stages of 2026 F3 Monza Qualifying session to head back onto the circuit, leaving Slater with only an out-lap before his sole push lap.
With the clock ticking down and no opportunity for a second attempt, Slater was asked about what was going through his mind as he waited for the field to finally head out.
“Yeah, for sure. For sure, it was an exciting moment. Definitely one of the cool moments we will look back on and think that was good fun. But definitely wasn’t the easiest because obviously we went out, then we boxed the end. Then we had just an out lap and the tyres were definitely not in the best condition, probably ultimate lap time.
“But it’s one of them things that you just got to get on with it. And for sure, when that clock is ticking down, you’re thinking, surely we’re going to go soon. And then it was just like another one or two minutes, and you’re thinking, wow, I’m literally going to do an out lap in one push.
“So you just want to hit your references at that point, and you know where they are. Due to all the preparation we do, and then hopefully you can just feel the grip underneath you as you do the out lap and then deliver the job and see where you end up and just try and drive at the limit of the grip at the end of the day.
“And that’s what we did. But for sure, it was an exciting moment that we definitely look back on in the future and look back and say that was a cool time.”
Maximising the Sprint Race
While Slater will start Sunday’s Feature Race from pole, he will have to work his way forward in Saturday’s Sprint Race due to the reverse-grid format. When asked by Pit Debrief about Monza’s long straights and powerful slipstream, the championship contender is not ruling out a charge from further down the order.
“For sure, we can win because it’s Monza. Anything can happen. I think the guy on the last row of the grid could win the race. I’ve seen a lot of races there and it’s always pretty chaotic. So I can’t wait for tomorrow. I think it’s going to be really enjoyable.
“I think it’s very important to get a read on tyres like it always is in the Sprint Race to put ourselves in a good position on Sunday, especially to give the team some data. The win can happen, but I’m going to take anything I can get and just try and get some good knowledge going into Sunday.”
With his third pole of the season secured and a valuable opportunity to capitalise on Ugochukwu’s difficult qualifying, Slater heads into the final two rounds of the season with the championship firmly in his sights.
But despite the growing pressure of the title fight, his approach remains unchanged. For Slater, it is simply about execution and maximising whatever result is available.
