Freddie Slater – the 14-year-old WONDERKID on a fast track to F1

F1 teams are always looking for who could be the next Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen and Freddie Slater could be just that.

The 14-year-old Brit has rapidly risen up through the karting ranks and on Sunday (9 July) he became the KZ2 European Karting champion in Italy.

That is just the tip of the iceberg which recently saw Red Bull boss Helmut Marko speaking to Slater's agent Mark Berryman of ADD Management.

Berryman also runs F2 rookie and Red Bull junior Zane Maloney as well as F1 star Lando Norris, both of whom scored podiums at Silverstone on the same day as Slater's European triumph.

Exactly what or who Berryman and Marko were discussing is only known to them but it would be surprising if the teenager's name hasn't at least been mentioned.

READ MORE: Norris and Hamilton DELIGHT record British Grand Prix crowd as Verstappen wins again

Record breaker

Slater is now at an age where he can race cars as well as karts and he wasted no time in becoming a force to be reckoned with.

In the 2022 Ginetta Winter Series, the 14-year-old became the youngest-ever Ginetta champion and quite possibly the youngest champion in cars of all time given the age restrictions in place across the world.

He has taken that form into the 2023 Ginetta Junior Championship where he has won 15 out of 18 races so far.

Slater is a banker for the overall title in his rookie year which is something even Norris couldn't do back in 2014 as he finished third behind Jack Mitchell, now in GT racing, and James Kellett who races in Porsches.

The big hurdle Slater has to overcome next is the transition to single-seaters, something that Norris did with ease, winning MSA Formula, Toyota Racing Series, two Formula Renault titles and European Formula 3 all at the first attempt.

READ MORE: F2/F3 Power Rankings - Alpine junior FINALLY wins as Mansell shines at Silverstone

Already turning heads

It isn't just Slater's stunning on-track performances that are catching the eye of famous F1 faces but also his social media presence.

The youngster already has over 15,000 followers on Instagram including 2009 world champion Jenson Button.

Other notable F1 names keeping tabs on Slater include Juan Pablo Montoya, Felipe Massa, Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Even radio broadcaster and model Kelly Brook is a follower of his, although he has not followed her back.

He is also trying to grow his YouTube channel with his best-performing video achieving 18,000 views.

READ MORE: Who is Helmut Marko? The genius behind Red Bull rise to power

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