Smith to step up to Formula 3

The Australian invasion into Formula 3 continues with Tommy Smith becoming the latest to join the global grid with Van Amersfoort Racing.

Smith will take the step up to the with the Dutch team and race alongside fellow Australian Christian Mansell, who will race for Campos.

It is a big rise for the nephew of Supercars driver Jack Smith after he has been taking on the European scene over the last two years and most recently finished 20th in the competitive GB3 Championship, whilst trying to make up for lost time due to school commitments and COVID-19 complications.

But Smith said he cannot wait to take on the invaluable opportunity and race on the global F1 stage with the season coming to Albert Park next April.

“I am lucky enough to be in this situation with a great team. It is really exciting and we will make the most of the opportunity,” he told AUTO ACTION.

“If you look at the results on paper they are not great, but the team look further into that and know there is more to come.

“We have explained to them and they trust us. They would not have signed me if they did not think I could do a good job.”

Due to the timing of the deal, Smith missed the recent post-season test and will drive a Formula 3 car for the first time at the season opener in Bahrain in March next year.

Smith jumped straight from go-karts to Formula Ford before stepping into Australian Formula 4 and Asian F3 in 2019.

But all of his momentum went “backwards” in 2020 when COVID-19 and Year 12 came along to unravel his Formula Renault opportunity.

But with the help of mentors Andrew Jones and the Scottish based Dave Boyce, Smith now “feels ready” for the challenges ahead after making the move to Europe in 2021 and getting back to his best.

“At the start of 2020 I felt like I was at a high level, really fit, driving well and ready to go to Formula Renault,” he said.

“But then I sort of took two steps back. I could not travel and there was not many racing, so we just said ‘lets finish school.

“It has taken me the last two years to get back to where I was and now I feel like I am more than ready for the challenges ahead.”

Australian Tommy Smith steers through the streets of Monaco in the Formula Regional European Championship.

Although his performances in the Formula Regional European and GB3 championships were not as great as he would like finishing 31st and 20th in the respective championships, Smith showed his true potential at Spa this year.

Racing on the famous Belgium circuit brought out the best in Smith, who managed to score a maiden GB3 win in dramatic circumstances after crossing the line in second, but handed the P1 trophy on a count-back.

With a win under his belt, he expects the F3 cars and more open European tracks to suit him better than the tight and unforgiving British circuits he has at times struggled to come to grips with in GB3.

“It is hard to say because I have not driven it, but it should suit me because the GB3 cars moved around a lot on some pretty sketchy and daunting tracks,” Smith said.

“I struggled to learn the tracks against guys who have done years there, which reflects in the results. It was tough.

“I won a race in Belgium which was awesome. It had been coming and was relieved just to get that first one.

“I have asked a few people who have raced F3 and they said ‘just do it’. You are on big open tracks on a car with a lot of grip so its like driving a go kart and I just seem to go better in a quicker car.”

Although he will be unable to jump behind the wheel of an F3 until Bahrain due to the “very restrictive” testing guidelines, he will get some track time in an old GP3 or Euro Formula car in preseason.

Looking at the road ahead, Smith is aware of the challenge F3 presents and is not placing a high benchmark on himself, hoping to come to grips with the cars and take it from there.

“It will be tough and I am not underestimating the challenge,” he said.

“At the moment I am on that (Formula 1) pathway, but you can go anywhere from F3 and we always wanted to get to that level.

“It probably is a two-year thing. I just want to do the best I can and be competitive against my teammate, but if I have a few good results you are very quickly on the scene.”

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