The 18-year-old Briton, the first driver recruited by the Audi development program before the 2026 season, comes off a remarkable first campaign in Formula 3 with Trident Motorsport.
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Fighting for the title until the end of the season, last weekend in Madrid, Slater finished as runner-up with a win in the main race, three pole positions, and eight podiums.
The young Englishman now joins Invicta Racing, a team that secured Drivers’ and Teams’ titles in Formula 2 in 2024 and 2025. He will discover his new team during the post-season tests in a few weeks.
Endorsed by Audi F1
This promotion confirms the Briton’s meteoric rise since his debut in motorsport in 2022. Champion in Ginetta Junior, he then won the Italian and UAE Formula 4 titles in 2024, before becoming European Formula Regional champion in 2025.
“I am really excited to move up to Formula 2 with Invicta Racing next year, said Slater. I learned a lot in Formula 3 this season and feel that I have progressed, both as a driver and as a person, throughout the year. Invicta has an impressive record in Formula 2, and I look forward to starting to work with the team to prepare for our season together.”
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Slater will also continue to benefit from the support of the Audi driver development program in 2027: “Moving to Formula 2 is the next logical step for Freddie, as well as an important new phase in his development as a driver, explained Allan McNish, program director (photo above). He had an excellent season in Formula 3, fighting for the title until the last round and demonstrating his speed, racecraft, and progress throughout the year.”
Following in the footsteps of Bortoleto and Fornaroli
Invicta Racing is also enthusiastic about welcoming the young Briton. “Finishing as runner-up in the FIA Formula 3 Championship in his first season is an outstanding achievement, emphasized James Robinson, CEO and team principal. Freddie has proven he is ready for the next step, and we are very excited to support him in this new challenge in Formula 2.”
By joining the top Formula 2 team, which crowned two rookies in the last two seasons with Gabriel Bortoleto in 2024 and Leonardo Fornaroli in 2025, Slater and Audi are preempting the freshly crowned FIA F3 champion, American Ugo Ugochukwu, who confirmed last weekend to his idol Lewis Hamilton that he plans to move to F2 in 2027.
Logically, Ugochukwu could remain with Campos Racing, his F3 team, which currently dominates the Formula 2 championship with Nikola Tsolov. To be continued…
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