‘It does take a little bit of pressure off now’ – Tommy Smith of his first Formula 3 points at Silverstone

Van Amersfoort Racing’s Tommy Smith scored his first Formula 3 points at a wet-dry Silverstone Feature Race in July, and it’s a result he feels has been a long time coming.

In a race where being on the right tyre at the correct moment was key, Smith was one of the drivers who came in for the slicks at the end of the Formation Lap.

On a drying track, he flew through the field early on but was pegged back once the rain returned. However, in the closing stages of the race, the circuit once again dried out, allowing him to fight from the rear of the pack to finish in fourth.

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“Firstly, it is super nice to finally get some points, better late than never, it's taken like a year and a half, but it was super nice,” he said. “I started in 26th and obviously the weather played a bit of a factor and we actually opted for the slick tyres at the end of the Formation Lap.

“So was on the Wets and then came in and then pretty much just survived in the first half. I went all the way from last to P4, and then went all the way back, because it rained, to last again and then made my way back up to finish fourth, so it was super nice.

“It was a shame because the weekend was a bit compromised, starting 26th. I lost like seven-tenths at a corner, so it really dropped me back, so it could have been even better.

“But to be honest if I was further up the grid we probably would not have been as risky with the strategy. I had nothing to lose at the back, so it was like let's put the slicks on, hope for some luck and it came.”

Smith also explained how he and VAR made the decision to pit at the end of the Formation Lap, considering that they had put on the Wet tyres minutes earlier.

“It was a hard one,” he admitted. “It was quite wet but when we did the Formation Lap, I got to sector three and it was dry and then I think my team called me in, and I wasn't the only one.

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“Arvid Lindblad went in and a few others, Sophia Floersch, that's the other thing I had to double stack behind Sophia because she started 25th, so I lost even more time, so thankfully the Safety Car came out at the right time.

“We got fortunate I guess and even later on the incident with Alex Dunne and Sebastián Montoya, it blocked the pit entry so no one else could change. It ended up being the right strategy but it was just about surviving.

“There was a point when I was up to sixth within three laps and then I knew when it rained under Safety Car, I had to accept that I would go back and be smart, I had to be on track to be there at the end, and then it came.”

While happy with the result, Smith admitted that he was a little bit disappointed to miss out on a podium. The VAR driver revealed he was held up coming through the field which saw him cross the line 19 seconds behind winner Lindblad.

His frustrations also came from the fact that Callum Voisin, who crossed the line in P1, was given a 10-second penalty, so had he been closer, he might have also got his first F3 podium.

This result also has some similarities to Smith’s performance at the same race at the same venue in 2023, when he strapped on the Wet tyres late on and went from P28 to 11th in the final three laps – although he was later demoted to P25 after exceeding track limits one too many times.

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“It's quite ironic, the exact same race, the Feature Race in 2023, Silverstone I did the same thing,” he joked. “It’s not as good because I only had two laps, and I went on the wets with everyone on the slicks.

“Those conditions create a bit more, when it's dry there's not much if you start at the back, you struggle to go forwards. Those mixed conditions create a lot of uncertainty, and a lot of chaos in F3 especially, so it does provide opportunity for the guys at the back to have a better result.

“I don't know how many DNFs there were in that race, there was a lot going on, so it creates a bit more. You want to start at the front but if you are at the back, you sort of hope for those conditions.”

His performance saw him leave Silverstone with 12 points in the bag and he admits that result has taken the pressure a little bit off his shoulders.

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“To be honest, I feel like in Qualifying I am better than where I've been qualifying,” he continued. “I've just made too many mistakes and there was pressure to be honest because when you don’t score at every race, you are trying to but it does build up and becomes super frustrating, so at least that’s off my back.

“I've got 12 points, so now there’s no pressure in that area, I'm sure I can do it again if I qualify well and generally be in the points, it does take a little bit of pressure off now.”