Audi finally has an in-house replacement for Hulkenberg and Bortoleto

Slater narrowly missed out on the Formula 3 title after a difficult season finale in Madrid. The Brit ultimately had to settle for second place in the standings behind Ugo Ugochukwu. After winning multiple feeder series titles in consecutive years, the result was a setback for Slater, but there was also good news.

With second place in the standings, Slater has enough points to obtain a super license. Moreover, Slater recently turned 18, which is also a requirement to hold an F1 license. Those two things mean that the youngster can now take part in a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

This means Audi finally has someone available to step in if Hulkenberg or Bortoleto are unable to race. Until now, the German team, like its predecessor Sauber in recent years, did not have a driver with a super license who could compete in Formula 1 and step in.

If one of the full-time Audi drivers had been unavailable, the Germans would have knocked on the door of another F1 team on the grid to loan someone. Alpine's Paul Aron would have been the primary candidate in that case. The Estonian has taken part in several free practice sessions for Audi and previously for Sauber in Formula 1.

That said, it is by no means a foregone conclusion that Slater would actually be called up for a Grand Prix in the near future if a seat opens up at Audi. The Brit has not yet completed a Test of Previous Cars (TPC) or taken part in an FP1 session. Moreover, the jump from Formula 3 to the top tier would be significant, though not impossible.

It stands to reason that Audi will prepare Slater for Formula 1 calmly over the coming months, as the team sees great potential in him. A decision on participating in an FP1 during this season has not yet been made.

For the remaining two free practice sessions in which a rookie must drive, Audi could once again use Aron. At the moment, Audi has not submitted a request to Alpine for that purpose yet.