There are a surprising number of similarities between Freddie Slater and Alex Dunne, who will be Theodore Prema Racing team-mates for this weekend’s Macau Grand Prix and are among two of the drivers to watch out for.
Both have enjoyed dominant campaigns on British shores in the past; Slater rewrote the Ginetta Junior record books last season, while Dunne achieved what was then unprecedented success in British Formula 4 in 2022. Both proceeded to announce themselves on the international stage at Macau last year with starring performances, but each missed out on the ultimate glory. And now both are aiming to bounce back this time around with victory in a car neither has ever raced before.
For Slater, fresh from further record-breaking during an impressive Italian F4 campaign, Macau this year represents his graduation to Formula Regional machinery, which has replaced FIA F3 as the category for the 2024 World Cup. Last year he was on the undercard in the F4 contest and was all set to challenge highly rated Red Bull Junior Arvid Lindblad for the win, despite it being just his seventh event in single-seaters, when intermittent electrical woes intervened and dumped him down the order. Now, he wants to land that victory in the Macau showpiece.
“Last year was a bit frustrating with what happened in the final race – that’s how it goes sometimes – but this year it’s my redemption year,” declares Slater, a Silverstone Autosport BRDC Award finalist. “I’m going there to win, I’m not going there for anything else.”
Fighting talk from a driver who, for the second year in a row, will be up against rivals with far more experience of the Tatuus car he is racing. But Slater heads to the event full of confidence, not just from his Italian F4 conquering but from his impressive Macau debut last year.
“It’s going to be a lot more tough as there’s a lot of fast drivers,” cautions Slater. “I’ve still got to go in open-minded but I know where I’m going now and I know where certain bumps are. It should be good fun and I’m super-excited for it.”
He will also use it as an opportunity to get to grips with the car he will be racing next year, when he is due to tackle the Formula Regional European Championship with Prema.
“Macau is so different to everywhere else we go and there’s a different approach to the weekend, but it’s still some practice of racecraft and how the car handles,” Slater adds. “I’ll get some good experience under my belt ready for next year. It should be good learning and will put a good focus on things I need to work on.”
While Slater is progressing up the single-seater ladder for his Macau appearance, Dunne has opted to drop back a level for his. The Irishman has endured a “difficult” maiden FIA F3 season with MP Motorsport this year, where two sprint race podiums have been the sole bright points in a campaign that ended with him 14th in the standings.
"There’s nothing like a qualifying lap at Macau and being so close to the walls, especially as it’s high speed" Alex Dunne
Those results are in contrast to his FIA F3 debut at Macau last year, where he turned heads by starting sixth and finishing second in the qualifying race for Hitech against rivals who had been driving the car all season.
“Going into the weekend, I said to my dad if I was starting in the top 10 for the qualifying race, I would be very happy,” recalls Dunne. “I outdid those expectations! I think I’ve become quite good at adapting quite quickly.
“When I first jumped in an F3 car [for a test], the pace was pretty good after one or two sessions. I was also in a very good team and a very good car and that makes your life as a driver a little bit easier.”
But any hopes of challenging for the GP win were extinguished on the first lap when he crashed out at Lisboa after slipping to third off the line. “It was just inexperience with warming the tyres and not understanding the car better in a race scenario,” says Dunne of his early exit. Nevertheless, he still enjoyed his first experience of the event.
“There’s nothing like a qualifying lap at Macau and being so close to the walls, especially as it’s high speed,” he smiles. “I really enjoyed it. I think naturally high-speed circuits always suited me a bit more.”
Dunne says his Macau performance “sealed the deal” when it came to him joining the McLaren Driver Development Programme, and now wants to pick up where he left off last year and put his 2024 struggles behind him.
“There’s only one goal and that’s to try to win,” he states. “I’ve never driven the Regional car before but it’s a weekend where I think knowing the track is more important than knowing the car.”
And Dunne is also relishing the prospect of being part of the successful Theodore Prema operation, having been pleasantly surprised to get the call-up.
“I was sitting at home on my sim and my dad called me and said, ‘You’re doing Macau with Prema’, and I was a bit shocked,” he laughs. “Racing with Prema is a very good opportunity for me – it’s one of the most successful teams in the junior categories. Even if it’s only one weekend with the team, to learn off them will be very good.”
Slater and Dunne are just two of a talented 27-strong line-up for this year’s race, and one of their main threats could come from the final member of the Prema triumvirate: Dino Beganovic. The F3 race winner is another looking to avenge last year’s disappointment – he too crashed out at Lisboa when running third.
Other F3 victors to take a step back include Oliver Goethe (MP) and Mari Boya (KCMG by Pinnacle), who finished fourth at Macau last year. While FRECA champion Rafael Camara is absent, James Wharton (ART) and Tuukka Taponen (R-ace GP), who finished second and third in the standings, will be ones to watch.
In total, five F1 junior drivers are among the entry alongside a whole swathe of F4 champions, ensuring whoever prevails will have certainly earned it.
Follow the live action from this year's Macau Grand Prix on Autosport.com and Motorsport.tv here.
