Freddie Slater has finally claimed his maiden FIA Formula 3 (F3) victory, with the TRIDENT driver taking the Feature Race win in Budapest to take the Championship lead heading into the summer break.
The Briton controlled the race from the front after Tuukka Taponen was forced to pit with damage, holding off a determined challenge from title rival Ugo Ugochukwu across the closing stages.
While Slater had come close to victory several times during his rookie season, he finally converted his pace into a win at the Hungaroring.
Speaking in the F3 Post Feature Race Press conference, with Pit Debrief in attendance, the TRIDENT driver admitted that the result had been coming for some time.
“Yeah, that one’s special, you know, it’s been coming for a while, I think we just haven’t quite had that race pace to just kind of maximise the result, and we put ourselves in quite difficult situations, and then today we controlled the race really well, we maximised the safety car restart and also the VSCs was right on it with the Deltas and everything, and we managed to pull a win at the end.
“It was a tricky race with degradation and marbles and loads of different factors, and also the tarmac here was changing every run, so it was a tricky race, but really enjoyable.”
Contact for Slater and Taponen
Slater’s F3 Budapest Feature Race was not entirely straightforward. He initially made contact with Tuukka Taponen while attempting to take the lead at Turn 12, leaving him with front wing damage. However, after Taponen later pitted with a puncture, Slater inherited the lead and was able to control the race from the front.
The interruptions that followed repeatedly threatened to reset the race, but Slater was able to make the most of each restart.
After the final Safety Car period, the Briton managed to build enough of a gap to break Ugochukwu’s DRS, giving himself some breathing room as the race entered its final stages.
However, with degradation increasing, Slater knew the hardest part of the race was still ahead of him.
“I think it was going to be controlled no matter what, I think it was just, you want to take the pressure early on, or you want to wait to the end, it’s just a bit of a different strategy I guess, I tried, and yeah, I guess it worked at that point, but then you still have to think there were still five, six laps to go, and that’s kind of the crucial part of the race, with the degradation, so I knew that kind of, those last five laps were the most tricky part of the race up until that point, so, that were coming, so I just knew I had to manage in a certain way, and we did the job.”
Ugochukwu continued to apply pressure, but Slater held firm to take the chequered flag and finally secure his maiden F3 victory.
Slater now leads the FIA F3 Drivers’ Standings for the first time in 2026
For the first time this season, the Briton is now the driver everyone else is chasing in the Championship.
However, he believes the title fight will not be won by doing anything dramatically different, but by consistently executing each weekend.
“It’s going to just take execution, I think it’s been clear that just no mistakes, and just kind of finishing where you can, and having good qualifying, just doing the 98% laps, and 99% laps, and getting a lap on the board, and then fighting in the races.
“You know, it’s very chaotic in the sprint race especially, and yeah, now it’s a beautiful way to go into the summer break, it’s perfect, now we have a bit of a relaxation time, a nice time with the family, and then we get back to Monza.”
Two rounds remain in the 2026 FIA F3 season
There are now just two rounds remaining in the 2026 season, with Monza next on the calendar before the championship heads to Madrid for the season finale.
Slater is not setting himself a small target for the final two rounds, with his eyes firmly on pole position to maximise race results.
“Yeah, for me, I think it’s very important to have a nice summer break now in August, and just reset, and then come back to the team towards the end of August, when we go for our test, and it’s important to focus on the last two rounds.
“I think Monza is an interesting weekend for FIA Formula 3, it’s always very chaotic, so that’s going to be important to just clean execution, and then Madrid I think is going to be even more interesting, a completely new track for everyone, two feature races, over 60 points available on the weekend, and that’s a lot of points, if you clean up, you can get the job done easily, so the goal is to put it on pole in both the last two rounds, and win all the races.”
Difficulty on the tyres on following behind another car at the Hungaroring
Slater was also asked by Pit Debrief about the difficulty of following another car in Budapest, and how important it is to make a move when an opportunity presents itself.
The Briton explained that drivers have to carefully balance tyre management with the need to attack, particularly around a circuit where overtaking opportunities are limited.
“Yeah, in the sprint race yesterday, it was very difficult to kind of set up an overtake, and you’re trying to get a tyre delta on the guy in front by being behind, which is not the easiest thing at all.
“So you’re always trying to manage the tyres better than the guy in front while still being behind, so then you can get an opportunity later in the race, but then with this track, once you get past T2, there’s no real opportunities until you get back to the main straight, so it’s a very difficult track to manage.
“And you can play the game in sector 2 a lot with the tyres, and then, yeah, it’s one of the most tricky tracks to overtake, for sure, but it does involve a lot of clean execution when you’re driving, because the line discipline here is quite big.
“If you go a tiny bit too wide, the marbles are crazy, so it’s easy to throw the car off and ruin the race, let’s say, so yeah, it’s a tricky track for that.”
Execution the key for the remainder of the season
However, the victory was not just about finally getting the win. It also capped off a weekend in Budapest which Slater and TRIDENT had to turn their race pace around after struggling more during Saturday’s F3 Sprint for Sunday’s Feature Race.
The team made progress overnight, and Slater was able to put together the performance required when it mattered most.
“For me, it’s not changed too much. I think we’ve been doing the same kind of plan since the start of the season, you know, now we’ve had seven podiums, and now a win in seven weekends, it’s incredible for a rookie, let’s say, and I think it’s just been about execution, just finding those little couple of half tenths of tenths that kind of have made the difference in winning the race today.
“We improved a lot overnight, that was definitely for sure. Yesterday we struggled a little bit, and generally our race pace has struggled, so I think it’s been a good weekend in terms of how we’ve worked as a team to kind of develop and move forward in the race pace especially.
“And now it’s just relax in August, train hard, get ready for Monza, which is always interesting, like I say, and then go to Madrid, which is going to need a lot of kind of discipline, I think, on that sort of track.
“It’s a very interesting track, so, yeah, now it’s just the same process what we’ve been doing, and see where we end up at the end of the year.”
Feature Race interrupted by multiple Safety Car periods
The Feature Race was interrupted by multiple Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car periods, forcing the drivers to repeatedly reset their rhythm and manage their tyres through the restarts. There were 7 drivers by the end of the race who retired from the Feature.
Slater admitted that the interruptions during the F3 Budapest Feature made an already difficult race even more challenging.
“Yeah, very tricky race with all the VSCs and safety cars and kind of, you’re like, you create a gap, you’re in a rhythm, then you have to stop again and you go again.
“Then you have to think of a new safety car restart or whatever the situation is. It’s never easy, especially here with all the marbles, the pick-up on the tyres seemed quite bad, very dusty as well.
“So, those first laps after the safety car weren’t easy and also quite gusty here. So, it wasn’t easy safety car restarts, let’s say, but, yeah, we knew FIA Formula 3 is like this sometimes and we had to manage it well.”
First FIA F3 victory added to his tally
The TRIDENT driver’s first FIA Formula 3 victory came after 186 races and 58 career victories across all the series he’s raced in. When asked by Pit Debrief how the additional victory in the Budapest Feature Race felt for Slater, he admitted that the milestone in F3 made the win even more special.
“You’ve done your research, haven’t you? Didn’t even know it was that.
“But yeah, no, it’s mega to get a win now in FIA Formula 3 and yeah, it’s a special one, of course, and around a track like this, you know, it’s a lot of commitment, especially in Sector 2 and also, there’s such key corners like T1, T12, 13, 14 that are key to your race because otherwise you’re under pressure and it’s a very enjoyable place to get my first win and a very cool place to be in.”
