After securing the 2025 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine only a week ago, Freddie Slater already has his eyes set on being the 2026 Formula 3 (F3) Champion with Trident.
Joining Trident
The British driver joins the grid with an impressive record in single seater racing, and is ready to hit the ground running when Round 1 begins in Melbourne next year. At the Jerez post-season test, he shared how his first few days of training with his new team had proceeded, after being previously with Prema Racing.
“It’s pretty awesome to be joining such a team like Trident,” said Slater. “They have had such success over the last three years, so it’s a mega team, and they have welcomed me very nicely.“
“It’s a completely new team. As you know, I’ve been with PREMA for the last two years so to change to a new environment, new people, having to learn new names and stuff like this, it’s always difficult. But it’s been good fun so far, and it’s been nice to build that family relationship with the team, and hopefully a lot of success next year.”
Previous experience driving Formula 3 cars
It won’t be Slater’s first time racing in F3, having had previous outings in the Jeddah round this season with AIX Racing, and another at Spa-Francorchamps with Hitech TGR. For Slater, there is not a lot of difference between the cars, but he adds that it all comes down to the minor details, which he will be focusing on to get an advantage in the very competitive F3 grid.
“I think every car has it’s slightly different traits, but as you know the F3 grid is so tight, so you are looking for minor details. Spa and Bahrain, it was super cool to get the opportunity to be able to jump in for a one-off event, and then I managed to get a second attempt. But I think it’s about self-development. I don’t look at other people, I try to focus on myself. Obviously, we have the data inside the team, so we are focusing on ourselves inside the three cars.”
Looking ahead to Round 1 in Melbourne, Slater is aware he needs to be ready straight away and continue improving.
“It’s between us, we need to work next to our teammates, work together to improve the car and to improve ourselves, and then it’s my job to find what I need to work on for myself for when I get to Melbourne. I need to be on it straight away because that’s Round 1. I think it’s a mixture, I think people have different approaches, but for me it’s just to focus on ourselves and see where we end up.”
Trident’s 2026 F3 lineup
Alongside Slater at Trident for the 2026 F3 season will be Noah Strømsted and Matteo De Palo. Strømsted remains with the team following his rookie F3 campaign in 2025, while De Palo steps up from FRECA after competing against Slater throughout the season.
Slater and De Palo, as well as Enzo Deligny who will be driving for Prema Racing in 2026, were locked in a title battle heading into the final round in Monza. Slater ultimately sealed the championship after Race 1, leaving De Palo and Deligny to fight for runner-up honours in Race 2.
For 2026, De Palo and Slater will shift from fierce rivals to teammates, with Slater reflecting positively on their first meeting at the Trident factory ahead of post-season testing in Jerez.
“It was quite funny yesterday, I met Matteo at the factory for the first time,” he revealed. “Obviously, we are battling with each in FRECA, but it doesn’t change when we turn up for FIA F3, it’s game on. We have to try and develop the team as much as we can, and not let anything get in the way, to affect the team. But it was quite funny walking in the other day and seeing Matteo because we are battling for the Championship.”
Eyes focused on the Championship title
Slater intends to carry his championship-winning momentum into 2026, setting his sights on claiming the Formula 3 title with Trident.
“Obviously, I’m here to win the Championship,” said Slater. “I want to win races for the team and to win the Championship for the team, that’s my goal, it’s the same every year, it’s the focus for the year. So I just need to focus on myself, building up the knowledge at testing, and there are a few second-year drivers, so I need to get the experience, there is a lot to learn. I definitely need to get on with it now, but we are going to try our hardest next year and see how we get on.”
