奥迪首位F1青训车手有望延续夺冠纪录
随着F1首次亮相马德里，奥迪首位F1青训车手、F3年度冠军领跑者Freddie Slater将在F3冠军争夺战中力争保持其100%的夺冠纪录。
随着F1在马德里首秀，奥迪的首位F1新星将在垫场赛——F3冠军决胜战中力争保持自己百分之百的夺冠纪录。
F3领跑者弗雷迪·斯莱特（Freddie Slater）于2026年初成为奥迪F1车手培养计划的首位签约者，这对这家德国制造商来说是一笔重大收获，因为自他在卡丁车生涯中斩获无数奖杯以来，F1车队就一直对他展开争夺。
尽管收到了大量邀请，斯莱特和他的管理团队有意在其职业生涯早期拒绝与F1车队结对——这与马克斯·维斯塔潘和兰多·诺里斯类似，他们都是等到进入F3后才分别接受了红牛和迈凯伦的支持。
"在卡丁车时期可能确实有些吸引力，但在那个时候加入F1车队的计划并不合适，"斯莱特告诉The 比赛。
“我和我的管理团队、我的家人以及我身边的人，我们都知道那不是我职业生涯中合适的时点，因为当时我不需要它。那时候要做的只是在各级赛事中逐步成长。
“但现在，进入F3（三级方程式），这是一个绝佳的机会，让我成长为一名更有经验的车手，并且希望将来能成为F1车手。现在的时机刚刚好。
“对我来说，这里更像一个家，这正是真正吸引我的地方。感觉不像是进入一家公司做生意。
“感觉我真的是加入了一个非常信任我的大家庭，这就是为什么我不会选择其他任何人的原因。”
这位18岁车手自告别卡丁车赛以来的战绩，在目前F1车坛中最令人印象深刻的新秀履历中名列前茅。
他在2023年夺得Ginetta 青训锦标赛冠军，途经20场比赛赢下16场；随后在2024年的意大利F4赛季中又赢下20场比赛中的15场，并夺得总冠军。
此后Slater转战欧洲区域方程式锦标赛（介于F3与F4之间的过渡级别），在20场比赛中赢下8场，进一步印证了他在卡丁车赛时期展现出的所有明星潜质。
这意味着他自告别卡丁车赛以来，在所有全职参赛计划中都保持100%的夺冠纪录；他只曾在短期冬季系列赛或仅以兼职身份参赛的锦标赛中输过。
Slater以积分榜领跑者的身份进入F3马德里站收官战，尽管他是新秀，但他是今年表现最突出的车手。在平均排位赛名次方面，他一直遥遥领先于其他人。
在今年的八场主赛中，他还六次登上领奖台，在蒙扎未能登上领奖台仅仅是因为机械故障。
如果没有那次故障，Trident车手Slater本可以带着巨大的领先优势进入马德里站。相反，他对他唯一的现实争冠对手、前迈凯伦青训车手Ugo Ugochukwu只有微弱的15分优势，而马德里站还有67分可以争夺。
"之前的成功当然会给你信心，人们也会期待很多，但我认为F3是一个非常有趣的赛季，"Slater说。
"很多事情都在发生，而且我还在和很多二年级车手较量[比如Ugochukwu]，他们也都非常出色。
"所以这从来都不可能是一件轻而易举的事。我不得不努力补上大量经验，并非常快地跟上节奏。
"正如你在赛季下半段所看到的，我已经逐渐进入了不错的节奏，显然对赛车的了解也越来越深。
"现在我们正在为总冠军而战，上周日在蒙扎差点就大功告成了，这有点遗憾，但现在我们全力专注于马德里。
Slater说，他学到了"不要试图贪求太多"，因为"在总冠军争夺中，很多时候有些事情并不在你掌控之中"。
他学到了明智的做法是"在必要的时候从第五名拿下一个第四名，而不是试图在比赛中强求太多、想当英雄"。
"作为一名车手，我已经成熟了很多，更多地让比赛向我走来，而不是试图强行制造局面。"
"这绝对是让你有机会赢得总冠军的关键因素之一。"
Slater这个赛季其实还没有经历过一个糟糕的周末，整个赛季他的排位成绩从未跌出前10。最接近的一次是在巴塞罗那，他在那里排位第10，并且最终在主赛中名列第八——但他在那里的冲刺赛中仍然拿到了第二名。
但在那个周末之后，Slater进行了一次重要的调整，这让他得以继续前进并建立起积分榜上的领先优势。
“在摩纳哥和巴塞罗那之后，我和车队一起进行了一次很大程度的重整，”Slater说道。
“车队给了我一辆更适合自己的赛车。随着经验的积累，我也让自己的驾驶风格更加适应F3赛车。我认为这是整个赛季中多种因素结合在一起，让势头逐渐提升了起来。”
这对Slater来说确实奏效了，他在最近四轮比赛中拿到了55分（尽管在蒙扎退赛，并在斯帕与Ugochukwu发生碰撞），而最接近的竞争对手Ugochukwu只拿到了22分。
考虑到F3在那里进行的两天测试中出现了19次红旗，马德里的收官战可能会非常混乱。
Slater谈到马德里时说：“我很喜欢那里。我觉得这条赛道太棒了。我认为它很有个性。它更偏向老派风格。
“所有这些新出现的赛道都很平整、很平坦，开起来感觉没那么刺激。马德里让我想起了澳门和摩纳哥那类赛道，还有英国的Oulton Park，在那里你能真正感受到一些刺激，有颠簸，有真正向你逼近的护墙。”
"这辆车开起来有趣多了。我已经迫不及待想参加周五的排位赛了，那很可能是整个周末最令人兴奋的环节之一。"
但斯莱特（Slater）在驾驶时会不会把积分形势放在心上呢？
"不，不会，这一整年我都是同一个想法。关键在于执行——把成绩最大化,"斯莱特说。
"【在蒙扎】,我们把每一分可能拿到的成绩都做到了极致。有些事情超出我们的控制出了问题，归根结底这就是赛车运动。
"希望我们能有更好的运气，因为今年发生了相当多的事情出了问题，其中很多其实并不在我的掌控之内，把我们置于了不利的局面。
"但就我自己和我目前驾驶的方式而言，我已经处于最高水平的驾驶状态，而且我肯定在证明这一点。
"所以我等不及马德里站了，现在要做的就是最大化发挥、完美执行，看看我们最终能落到什么位置。"
Slater 本周末将全力以赴争取带着 F3 冠军离开，但 奥迪 和他的管理团队将开始权衡他 2027 年的选择。
英文原文
As Formula 1 debuts in Madrid, Audi's first F1 protege will be vying to maintain his 100% title-winning streak on the undercard in the Formula 3 title-decider.
F3 championship leader Freddie Slater was the first-ever signing to Audi's F1 driver development programme at the start of 2026, a major coup for the German manufacturer, given he's been courted by F1 teams ever since his silverware-filled start in karting.
Slater and his management team deliberately resisted pairing with an F1 team earlier in his career despite a litany of offers - similar to Max Verstappen and Lando Norris who waited until they were in F3 before accepting the support of Red Bull and McLaren respectively.
"There was a bit of attraction probably in karting, but at that time it wasn't right [to join an F1 team's programme]," Slater told The Race.
"Me and my management team, my family and the people around me, we knew it wasn't the right kind of point in my career because I didn't need it. It was about just developing through the ranks.
"But now, going to Formula 3, it was the perfect opportunity to kind of develop into more of an experienced driver and hopefully a future Formula 1 driver. Perfect timing now.
"It felt more like a family to me and that's what really attracted me to it. It didn't feel like I was going into a business.
"It felt like I was actually going to a family that kind of had a lot of trust in me and that's why I wouldn't choose anyone else."
The 18-year-old's track record since graduating from karting is right up there with the most impressive junior CVs on the F1 grid now.
He won 16 of the 20 races en route to winning the Ginetta Junior championship in 2023, followed by winning 15 of the 20 races in a title-winning Italian F4 campaign in 2024.
Slater then switched to the Formula Regional European Championship (an intermediate step between F3 and F4), winning eight of the 20 races, backing up all of that star quality he showed in karting.
It means he has a 100% title-winning record for his full-time programme since graduating from karting; he's only been beaten in short winter series or championships where he only raced part-time.
Slater heads into F3's Madrid finale as the championship leader, having been the standout driver this year despite being a rookie. He's been in a league of his own in terms of average qualifying position.
He's also finished on the podium in six of the eight feature races this year, and he was only denied in Monza because of a mechanical failure.
Without that failure, Trident driver Slater was set to head into Madrid with a comfortable lead. Instead, he has a slender 15-point buffer over his only realistic title rival, ex-McLaren junior Ugo Ugochukwu, with 67 points up for grabs in Madrid.
"Previous success definitely gives you confidence and kind of people expect a lot of things, but I think F3 is a very interesting season," Slater said.
"Lots of things happen, and also I'm battling a lot of second-year drivers [such as Ugochukwu], who are also very good.
"So it was never going to be a walk in the park. I've had to kind of catch up on a lot of experience and get on the pace very quickly.
"As you saw in the second half of the season, I've kind of settled into a nice rhythm, obviously getting to know the car more.
"Now we're fighting for a championship, and it was nearly kind of job done [on Sunday in Monza], which is a bit unfortunate, but now we've full focus on Madrid."
Slater says he learned "not trying to go for too much" when "a lot of the things are out of your control sometimes in this championship".
He learned it was sensible to "pick up a fourth from the fifth where it was necessary and not trying to make too much out of the race and try and be a hero".
"I've matured a lot as a driver, letting the race come towards me more instead of trying to force a situation.
"That's definitely been one of the key factors that puts [you] in a position to win the championship."
Slater hasn't really had an off weekend this season, having never qualified outside the top 10 all season. Barcelona comes closest as he qualified 10th there and ended up eighth in the feature race - but he was still second in the sprint race there.
But after that weekend, Slater had an important reset that allowed him to kick on and build a championship lead.
"After Monaco and Barcelona, we all had a big kind of reset of me and the team coming together," Slater said.
"The team gave me a car that kind of suits me more. I've adapted my driving style to the F3 car more as I've gained more experience. I think it's just a combination of things throughout the season that's kind of picked up the momentum."
That certainly worked for Slater, who has scored 55 points in the last four rounds (despite the Monza DNF and a collision with Ugochukwu at Spa) compared to the 22 scored by nearest rival Ugochukwu.
Given there were 19 red flags across two days of F3's test there, the Madrid finale could be chaos.
Slater said of Madrid: "I loved it. I thought the track was incredible. I think it had character. It was a bit more old school.
"All these new tracks that are coming out, they're smooth, they're flat, it doesn't feel as exciting to drive them. Madrid reminds me of Macau and Monaco, those sort of tracks, Oulton Park in the UK, where you actually have a bit of excitement, bumps, and walls actually closing in on you.
"It's a lot more fun to drive. I can't wait to get out there for the qualifying run on Friday, which is going to be probably one of the most exciting parts of the weekend."
But will Slater be driving with the points situation in the back of his mind?
"No, no, it's been the same thought all year. It's execution - just maximise the results," Slater said.
"[At Monza], we maximised every ounce of the result we could have. Things have gone wrong out of our control and that's motorsport at the end of the day.
"Hopefully we can have some better luck because this year there's been quite a few things that have gone wrong that actually haven't been in my control that put us in bad situations.
"But I think in terms of myself and the way I've been driving, I couldn't be driving at a higher level and I'm definitely proving that.
"So I can't wait for Madrid and now it's just maximise, execute and see where we end up."
Slater's fully focused on walking away with the F3 title this weekend, but Audi and his management team will be weighing up his options for 2027.
The Race ·
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