Slater dazzles in the Bahrain sun

STRATFORD race ace Freddie Slater had a dream start to his Formula 3 career, bagging a podium finish in the weekend’s sprint race in Bahrain.

The 16-year-old steered the AIX Racing car to second behind Nikola Tsolov having led the race in the early stages.

Slater failed to finish Sunday’s feature race but was delighted with his weekend.

He said: “It was great fun out there, leading for a little bit and then going to second and trying to reset everything so I could have another chance. Unfortunately, a few safety cars affected that.”

The teenager drove for AIX in their most testing around the same Sakhir venue after an impressive list of results in single seater racing, winning the 2024 UAE Formula 4 and Italian F4 Championships, and most recently finishing second in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship.

Speaking ahead of the race, Slater said: “I will make the most of this opportunity working with the AIX Racing team at Bahrain. It's always been a circuit I have wanted to drive, so to get to test and race F3 there will be a massive privilege.”