Photo: ACI Sport
Freddie Slater became Italian Formula 4 champion at Barcelona, but his ambitions are not yet fulfilled as he aims to beat the record for most wins in a season.
He is now tied with 2022 champion Andrea Kimi Antonelli on 13 victories, and has the chance to raise the bar to 16 in the final round at Monza.
In the paddock, Slater expressed his delight to Formula Scout about becoming champion and Prema winning the teams’ title with one round to spare.
“Prema have given me the amazing car all year,” he said. “Vincent [Garnier, chief F4 engineer] has done a cracking job under pressure with all the changing conditions. Angelo and Rene [Rosin] gave me such a great bunch of people to work with to improve myself. ADD Management, [manager] Craig Boyd and my family that have supported me and kind of helped guide me in the right direction.
“Obviously [great] to have 13 wins so far. Still three more can be had, so hopefully we can add to that record a little bit more. It’s been a mega season and I’m just over the moon.”
Slater says doing the “right preparation in the winter” and the guidance of his management team were key to his success.
“ADD Management just gave me such a great guide to what I should be focused on in the winter, which made my life easier in the race weekend.
He added: “ADD put me in the right races [doing F4 United Arab Emirates and GB3 as well as Italian F4], the right teams, and the right mindset and the right goals to get the most out of myself. At the end of the day, you want to be at your 100% best, and your main competition is yourself like I like to say.
Slater affirmed that “there was no nerves” ahead of the race where he was crowned champion, which he picked as his favourite of the year.
“Honestly, I didn’t even know what the points gap was. Even before the weekend, I had no idea. I just knew I had to put it up the front in qualifying and then do the best job I can, which what I’ve been doing all season.
“The focus stays the same, no matter if you’re under pressure. And I just don’t feel that pressure. A lot of people say you must feel pressure and I say ‘no’ because it’s just I’m only doing the best I can at the end of the day. And if the best is not good enough, then it is what it is.
“That race to get the championship sealed off, I think that was a super good statement, equalling the record of wins as well. And hearing my engineer over the moon because it means so much more to the team as well [by] keeping winning and taking [the title] back from US Racing after last year. It means the world to the whole team and also to myself.”