Van Amersfoort Racing’s Australian rookie Tommy Smith is the latest to go through the all-important questions to get to know him some more.

The Aussie looks back at some of his best racing memories, his favourite things to do away from the track and home comforts.

FIRST RACING MEMORY?

“My first time in a go-kart would be my first memory. That was actually at Jack Doohan’s place, they have a track there. It wasn’t a race or anything, but it was my first time in a kart. I’ve come a long way since then.”

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RACING STYLE?

“That’s a good question. I’d say I’m probably a bit overaggressive but working on dialling that back. I’d say I’m aggressive when I’m passing but trying to be smart about things so I’m balancing that and being smart about things.”

WHO IS YOUR RACING HERO?

“That’s tough. Probably Michael Schumacher. I’ve always looked up to him and I remember watching him as a kid. Any race car I drew as a kid it was red. I didn’t get to watch Ayrton Senna growing up so I’d have to say Michael.”

default image

BIGGEST RACING ACHIEVEMENT SO FAR?

“I won a race last year at Spa-Francorchamps but it’s probably back in go karts. Fighting for a title back in Australia. That was a big thing to win at the time but back then, it was huge. For sure that. Hopefully we get a few more memories soon.”

READ MORE: High-speed fiesta at home: Rafael Villagómez's ideal F3 race weekend

BEST THING ABOUT BEING A RACING DRIVER?

“Being a racing driver is pretty cool in general but it’s probably the travel and getting to see different parts of the world. It’s cool to drive a car around fast though, always.”

DO YOU HAVE ANY SECRET TALENTS?

“What have other people said so far? That’s a hard one. I don’t know if it’s a talent but I can jump on the wakeboard pretty high. Jumping the wave on a wakeboard. I tell you what I can do, anyone can probably do this but on a quad bike I can go on two wheels and do a wheelie for as long as I want. During the season maybe not. But I can’t think of anyone else.”

default image

HOW DO YOU RELAX AWAY FROM RACING?

“I try to switch off, not think of or talk about motor racing too much. That’s the best way to switch off, just have a couple of weeks off or just find something else to do, whether it’s skating or something. I don’t do too much of that anymore since I don’t want to get injured during the season but just doing other stuff, spending time with friends and family.”

READ MORE: In Profile: Caio Collet

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TRACK ON THE F3 CALENDAR?

“Melbourne. For sure. It’s cool to race back home. I raced there before once, back in 2019 in F4 which was really cool. Probably the only driver on the grid to have raced there more than once. There’s some other cool tracks as well but Melbourne’s a cool track.”