Stratford’s Freddie Slater Has Second F1 Practice Cut Short in São Paulo

Stratford-born Freddie Slater's Audi stopped on track early in São Paulo first practice, bringing out a red flag. How he got on, and what's next.

By Alex Harrington 2 min read Source: Formula 1 official classification and session report
Racing driver Freddie Slater, from Stratford-upon-Avon, at the 2025 Macau Grand Prix
Freddie Slater at the 2025 Macau Grand Prix. Photo: Mitchea99, CC BY-SA 4.0

Stratford-born Freddie Slater’s second Formula 1 practice run was cut short in São Paulo on Friday, when his Audi stopped on track early in the session and brought out a red flag. The 18-year-old was driving Nico Hülkenberg’s car in first practice for the São Paulo Grand Prix, a week after his debut in Mexico City.

On this page
  1. How Freddie Slater got on in São Paulo
  2. A frustrating pair of outings
  3. What’s next for Freddie Slater

How Freddie Slater got on in São Paulo

Slater managed seven laps before the stoppage and finished 22nd of the 22 drivers, according to the official classification. His best lap was a 1:14.966, 3.249 seconds slower than Lando Norris’s fastest time of 1:11.717 for McLaren. Most drivers completed between 25 and 34 laps in the hour, so he lost most of the session.

Formula 1’s session report says the red flag came shortly after the first 10 minutes, with Slater stopped out on track. Audi hadn’t said what went wrong when we published. His Audi team-mate for the session, Gabriel Bortoleto, racing in front of his home crowd, was eighth.

A frustrating pair of outings

It’s the second time his running has been cut short. In his debut in Mexico City he finished 21st with 14 laps, after, as Formula 1 has since reported, a cooling fan was left attached to his car, which earned Audi a €7,500 fine.

Neither session says much about his speed. Practice runs like these are how teams try out their young drivers, and they don’t come with a race seat: Slater hands the car back to the race driver after first practice. Audi announced two outings for him this season, in Mexico City and São Paulo.

What’s next for Freddie Slater

Slater, who grew up in Henley-in-Arden, finished runner-up in Formula 3 this year and moves up to Formula 2 with Invicta Racing in 2027, the last step below F1. He’s the first driver signed to Audi’s Driver Development Programme. The São Paulo Grand Prix itself starts at 5pm UK time on Sunday 8 November.

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Alex Harrington

Alex Harrington grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon and runs What's up, Stratford? as an independent guide to the town.

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