After a strong start to his FIA Formula 3 (F3) campaign in Melbourne, Freddie Slater is already turning his attention towards the next weekend of the 2026 season, with Monaco firmly in his sights.
The TRIDENT driver impressed throughout the opening round at Albert Park, finishing P2 in the Feature Race behind Ugo Ugochukwu. Despite narrowly missing out on victory, Slater came away from Melbourne encouraged by both his pace and the overall performance of the team.
Since the opening round, the British driver has spent time away from the track with family, while also continuing preparations ahead of the European leg of the season.
“Obviously, it’s been a bit of a long break for us,” Slater started. “But it’s been nice to spend a bit more time with my family, watch my two brothers race themselves and then spend some time with my sisters as well and my family.”
“So it’s been really nice to have a little family time that’s for sure and to see a couple of my friends and then do quite a bit of karting.”
“I’ve been really enjoying the new Silverstone circuit go-kart track, so it’s been really enjoyable to get lots of laps on there, lots of sim work, lots of training, two sessions every day, it’s been enjoyable.”
Looking back at the F3 Melbourne GP Round
Reflecting back on Melbourne, Slater highlighted how positive the weekend was, especially considering his limited experience with the car and track conditions compared to others around him.
“I think for me Melbourne was really positive considering the limited running on the medium tyre,” he started.
“Also not knowing the track compared to a lot of other drivers and to come in and finish P2 with the pace we did is a very special thing.”
“So I think we’re in a good place for the tracks coming up, it’s not going to be easy especially with the lack of experience on some of these tracks with this car, but that’s part of this year’s challenge.”
“But I’m looking forward to it and I think we started Melbourne well and I’m very excited for it to get going again.”
F3 in full force from June and beyond
With Formula 3 heading into a busy stretch of six race weekends across eight weeks, Slater also emphasised how important the upcoming in-season test at the Red Bull Ring will be for both himself and TRIDENT before arriving in Monte Carlo.
“I think the in-season test is going to be very important just to get back in the rhythm of things, especially for Monaco,” continued Slater.
“Obviously the Red Bull Ring is very different to Monaco so it’s hard to get a full representation of things before going into Monaco, but it’s still good for us.”
“I think once we start in Monaco it’s six race weekends in two months and it’s going to be very very busy, so it’s very important to start on the right foot.”
“For me I’m very clear on what I’ve got to do. I’ve just got to do what I basically did at Melbourne and just hopefully let the experience and the moments help and just keep getting better each weekend.”
The Monaco GP Round
The F3 Monaco GP remains one of the most iconic events on the junior single-seater calendar, and Slater admitted it is a race he has already been eagerly anticipating since the conclusion of the Melbourne weekend.
“I’m buzzing,” said Slater on driving in Monaco. “I’ve literally been waiting since Sunday night of Melbourne to get to Monaco and I’m so excited for that.”
“I can’t wait to drive around those streets. It’s such a special feeling and there is so much heritage there and some very cool people have won that race. So hopefully one day we can make that happen.”
