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# Audi's first F1 junior joins F2 champion for 2027
- URL: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/audi-f1-junior-freddie-slater-joins-f2-champion-team-2027/
- Published: 2026-09-15T10:04:46.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T10:04:46.000Z
- Description: Audi's first F1 junior driver Freddie Slater will join forces with defending champion team Invicta in Formula 2 in 2027
- Author: Josh Suttill
- Tags: Formula 1, Junior, #secondary_feature_1

Audi's first Formula 1 junior driver Freddie Slater will join forces with defending champion team Invicta in Formula 2 in 2027.

Slater narrowly missed out on the Formula 3 title at the Madring last weekend but has had a highly impressive rookie season, living up to the promise built up by strong karting success and back-to-back titles in Italian Formula 4 and the Formula Regional European Championship.

It was that early-career success that meant he had offers from multiple F1 teams to join their junior programmes from an early age.

But much like Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, Slater and his management team held off on accepting those offers too early.

At the start of this year, he accepted Audi's proposal for him to become the first driver to join its F1 driver development programme as it entered F1 in 2026.

Slater fell 14 points short of winning the F3 title, having suffered a costly mechanical failure in the Monza feature race and a nightmare Madrid title-decider that allowed chief rival Ugo Ugochukwu to take the crown instead.

Slater will now move up to F2 with Invicta, the team that has taken back-to-back championship doubles in the last two years, with Audi F1 driver Gabriel Bortoleto and McLaren reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli taking the last two drivers’ titles with it. Bortoleto and Fornaroli both also went from Trident's F3 team to Invicta's F2 team, just as Slater will.

Invicta is currently hoping to make it three out of three F2 titles this year with Ferrari junior Rafael Camara, who is seven points adrift of championship leader Nikola Tsolov. Invicta itself is also just six points off Camps in the teams' title race.

F2 has added an extra feature race to its next round in Baku amid uncertainty over its current final two rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Slater is set to make his debut in the post-season Abu Dhabi test, although this will likely have to be rescheduled if F1 cancels its Qatar and Abu Dhabi weekends as expected. F2 could decide to join F1 if it holds its season finale at Imola in December, as is the current back-up plan. Logically the post-season F2 test would also be held there.

"The move to Formula 2 is the natural next step for Freddie, and an important new phase of his development as a driver," Audi's driver development director Allan McNish said.

"He enjoyed a strong Formula 3 season, fighting for the title until the final round - showing his speed, racecraft and progress throughout the year.

"We are very proud of what Freddie has achieved this season and how he has developed along the way. Invicta Racing has had an excellent record in recent years, and we are delighted to be working with them.

"We believe it is the ideal environment for him, and we look forward to supporting him as he takes on this new challenge in 2027."

Invicta has been the clear benchmark team during the three years of F2's current car, but the series is introducing a heavily revised version of the car from 2027.

Slater was present at the launch of the new car at Monza, telling The Race: "I think it's mega. I think it's very exciting.

"Obviously F1 has changed a lot this year so F2 kind of needs to follow suit to progress to that ladder.

"So I'm very excited to get a go behind the wheel of one and it's going to be very interesting to see what it performs like."

Slater is the first confirmed 2027 F2 driver, but he’s expected to be joined by a number of his F3 rivals, including champion Ugochukwu.

A second-place championship finish in F3 and titles in F4 and FREC mean Slater, who is yet to drive an F1 car, has more than enough points to clear the 40-point threshold for an F1 superlicence.