Formula 3 returns to Spa-Francorchamps at a pivotal stage of the 2026 season. For Trident’s Freddie Slater and ART Grand Prix’s Kanato Le, Spa offers a chance to draw upon years of experience, while for AIX Racing’s Yevan David, it represents an opportunity to build upon a breakthrough result at Silverstone. Ahead of the event, Feeder Series spoke with Slater, Le and David about competitive rivalries, AIX’s underdog resurgence and preparations for round six in the Ardennes. 

By August Bamford 

Few drivers in the 2026 F3 field know each other’s style around Spa quite like Freddie Slater and Kanato Le.

Just over a year ago, the pair were teammates at Hillspeed in the GB3 Championship, racing  part-time alongside commitments in FRegional Europe. Spa was their second and the championship’s third round of the season, and Le claimed pole position for the second race while Slater suffered qualifying misfortune that left him starting from the back of the 23-car field for all three races.

Despite the setback, Slater charged into the top 10 in both races one and two, while Le claimed his only GB3 victory of the season in the second contest. The weekend finally culminated in a remarkable Hillspeed 1-2. As a drying circuit caught much of the field out in the final race, Slater carved his way from 23rd on the grid to the lead by lap six before taking a stunning victory, with Le following him home in second place. 

Though they are teammates no longer, those memories remain fresh for both drivers as they return to Belgium.

“For me last year, me and Kanato had some fun memories with Hillspeed throughout the GB3 championship and then we had a cool memory here in Spa,” Slater told Feeder Series at a virtual media roundtable ahead of round six. “It was a great weekend overall and we learned a lot off each other, evolving off each other in terms of learning throughout the weekend and getting better. Hopefully now we can replicate that.”

After Spa, both drivers made just one further GB3 appearance in 2025, returning for the fifth round at Brands Hatch. Slater again impressed by claiming back-to-back podium finishes in races one and two, while Le took a best finish of seventh in race three, just behind Slater.

Fast forward to 2026, and the pair find themselves at very different stages of their rookie F3 seasons. Slater has quickly established himself as one of the championship’s leading contenders, something many expected given his decorated junior career. The Audi junior, sitting second in the standings on 86 points, has claimed five podium finishes across the opening five rounds but has still yet to take his maiden F3 victory. Spa presents another opportunity to convert the consistency into a win. 

Le’s rookie campaign, on the other hand, has required more patience. After a trying opening round in Melbourne, the ART driver returned from the three-month break to score his first F3 points in Monaco’s red flag–shortened sprint race. He produced his strongest result to date in the most recent round in Silverstone, crossing the line 10th in the feature race before post-race penalties promoted him to sixth. With that, he earned eight valuable points to take his tally to 11 this season.

“Last year we had a pretty good weekend as a team, and the pace had been very nice all weekend,” Le recalled. “In the reverse grid, Freddie had an awesome race going from the back, and we were able to finish 1-2. Going into this weekend, hopefully we can replicate that. 

“Freddie as a teammate last year at Hillspeed was really nice for me because he’s such a great driver and I was able to learn from him as well. I think now having that dynamic in a different team, I’m still looking forward to doing the best this weekend.”

While Slater and Le look to past success, AIX Racing’s Yevan David is riding the wave of a monumental breakthrough. The Sri Lankan driver secured both his maiden F3 podium and the team’s biggest result of 2026 by finishing second in the Silverstone sprint race. 

Before that result, AIX Racing were facing a grim reality, sitting rooted to the bottom of the teams’ standings. The team’s season had been thrown into disarray after the second round when Brad Benavides, their most experienced driver, suffered an accident during the sprint race in Monaco left him sidelined with three broken vertebrae. In his absence, AIX have fielded both Salim Hanna and Ricardo Escotto – the latter of whom will pilot the #26 AIX car in Spa.

Yevan David rose to the occasion at Silverstone at an important time for the team. Starting on the front row of the reverse grid, he absorbed relentless, lap-after-lap pressure from the likes of Campos Racing’s Théophile Naël and Trident’s Noah Strømsted and scored nine crucial points. While AIX remain 10th in the standings with 21 points, they are now within a single point of DAMS in ninth and only 16 points behind Prema Racing in sixth.

“It’s been an overall boost to momentum and morale for the team,” David explained. “We still have to now enter the second half of the season, but this has happened just before a double header as well, so we definitely can carry that momentum. More than anything, the morale in the team has led to much more belief and much more motivation that we can execute. It was always there; we just kind of needed to execute, and that’s what happened in Silverstone. 

“From my point of view, I will take that leadership role and kind of guide the team as a lead driver in a way. I’m still taking all the information from the engineers, taking all the information from the other drivers. In the end, it is a team sport as much as it is an individual sport. Having that lead driver role is important, but also making sure that everyone is taking in information and absorbing like a sponge. I’m very excited, though, for the rest of the season, and I think it’s a huge boost to momentum.”

David arrives at Spa with renewed confidence, having also taken win at Spa in the course of his 2025 Euroformula Open campaign. 

Slater heads to Belgium with a championship opportunity firmly in his sights. The Trident rookie lost out to teammate Matteo De Palo on track on the final lap but won out in the end after the Italian was disqualified from victory. Slater now sits 18 points behind championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu of Campos Racing with four rounds remaining.

There are further reasons for optimism as well. Trident have enjoyed a remarkable record at Spa, taking a victory at the circuit five of the seven years. The team’s first win in the current iteration of F3 came at this venue, with Pedro Piquet standing on the top step in race one. 

At Spa in 2025, Noah Strømsted claimed his maiden F3 victory for Trident in the sprint race. Charlie Wurz added a third-place finish, giving the Italian outfit a double podium. The feature race never took place because of persistent rain and poor visibility. 

Wet weather could once again become a major talking point this weekend. Rain is currently forecast for Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions, adding another layer of complexity. Slater is expecting another fiercely competitive weekend, as has been the trend in 2026.

“I look at every weekend as a prime opportunity to either lead the championship, maximise the result or whatever it is,” Slater said. “If you look at last year compared to this year, everything is so much closer. All the teams have made a big step forward in their cars’ performance and everyone is up there now.

“It’s not so much of a, let’s say, walk in the park as maybe it looked like last year. This year it’ll be a lot closer. It comes down to the fine details so we’ll have to be on it with all those little things, especially if the weather spices things up. We’re going to have to try and maximise this opportunity.

“I’m just excited. It’s one of the greatest tracks in the world to drive. It’s one of the greatest weekends, passionate fans, a good vibe here. Hopefully we can close down the points – that’s the goal every weekend. I’m very much looking forward to it.”

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency