Finishing round six 111 points clear of Cooper Webster, Tom Mills made being caught at the top of the GB4 standings mathematically impossible at Brands Hatch and was crowned the 2023 champion with three races remaining. Feeder Series spoke to Mills in the paddock to learn more about his title-winning GB4 campaign and where his future may lie.

By George Brabner

With just one round of the season left, Mills has amassed 10 wins and nine pole positions, proving himself a cut above the rest in GB4. Recently named a BRDC Rising Star, his performances have not gone unnoticed outside of the British GT support paddock, either.

Whilst supremely successful, his season has been marred by uncertainty. Budget constraints have put Mills’ seat under constant threat, leaving him with only a race-by-race drive at certain points in the season, and as GB4’s only second-year driver, high expectations have been placed on the 18-year-old’s shoulders.

“Although I’m super excited that it’s happened, it’s quite a relief as well, because coming back for a second year, everyone expects you to be the champion. I knew the step I made mid-season last year [improved performance after a better understanding of the car], they were going to be able to make this year, and I was going to struggle to stay ahead all year,” Mills told Feeder Series.

“It’s a relief, I’m looking forward to Donington, not having any stress!”

Regular victories

After he took two pole positions and a victory at GB4’s first round at Oulton Park, it was clear Mills would be in the championship hunt. But, his ability to maintain that high level of performance is what has transformed the dream of his first single-seater title into reality.

Rival Liam McNeilly started the season with a win but struggled in the middle phase of the season as Fox Motorsport tried to find their footing in GB4, whilst the more experienced Cooper Webster has simply been unable to match Mills’ pace, despite out-scoring him at round four.

Race victory for Mills has therefore taken on a sense of inevitability in 2023 but not due to a lack of competition.

“Winning often and at every track, it’s very difficult really,” he said.

“You don’t expect to be winning all the time. Maybe you’ll have a weekend where you’re really strong, like Cooper had at Snetterton, he was really strong, but you don’t expect to be able to do it all the time, but that’s what’s happened.” 

“The car’s just been fantastic all year, we’ve just been consistent across every track. The tracks are so different. To be able to go from high grip at Silverstone to low grip here [at Brands Hatch], it just shows that the team learned and the engineering and stuff has just all worked brilliantly.”

An extra year of experience

In a school of rookies, Mills is the only driver on the GB4 grid with prior experience in the series. Whilst certainly beneficial, pinning his constant success solely on his experience with the Tatuus T-014 on British circuits is an easy out. 

“At the beginning of the year, I’d say it was a big advantage. Especially the tracks that people are coming to for the first time, I’ve seen them before and I knew how they race and stuff. But for example, when we went back to Silverstone, [the rest of the grid has] already raced there… 

“It shows that you learn so much in the championship, and if you come back again, if not many people come back again, you’re going to have an advantage.”

Beaten to the first race win of the year by his rookie teammate Jeremy Fairbairn – who has since left the GB4 Championship after switching from KMR Sport to Graham Brunton Racing mid-season – Mills has only rarely been completely clear of the competition. 

Although seemingly dominant looking back, he has been unable to slack off at any point in the season.

“I started the year on pole, but I didn’t win the race, so I knew I was going to be up against it all year. To actually be able to [win] each round is difficult really.” 

A meaningful win

In the space of six months, Mills has gone from not expecting to race at all in GB4 to becoming the series’ second-ever champion in emphatic fashion. Such a turnaround already adds a sweeter edge to his success, but to have done it with KMR Sport, the team owned by his father Kevin, makes this season even more special. 

“I remember doing the media day not thinking I would even be at the first round, and now I’m champion. It’s just amazing,” Mills said.

“I work amongst the team during the week, so it means a lot. It feels like my team as well, I’ve grown up around it. I watch other people win championships with us and now to be the person who’s done it means a lot. 

“It’s also professional. People say, ‘Oh, you must have the best kit because you’re with your Dad.’ That’s obviously not the case, every single one of our cars have won races. So it’s just a question of driving for your Dad,” he explained.

“That’s why drivers go well with us, because they feel part of the family.”

Next steps

Mills was able to venture outside of GB4 just recently with a one-off appearance with JHR Developments in British F4. He garnered the praise of GB3’s Joseph Loake, who coached the young GB4 star on his debut.

“Working with Tom, he’s a very smart guy, you know, he knows what he’s on about,” Loake told Feeder Series. “He’s racing in his dad’s team at the end of the day, so you know he’s going to have a lot of involvement in the mechanical side of things as well, so not only does he understand how to drive a car fast, but he also understands why and understands why it’s fast.”

Though, with financial issues looming, Mills’ time in single-seaters is borrowed as his second GB4 campaign begins to draw to a close.

“You know, I’m glad it’s over, really [because of the pressure to win at each round], but next round might be my last ever race, so I’ve got to make the most of it as I can,” he said.

“I don’t know what to do next year. Budget is obviously the number one thing again, I’ve only just gotten through this year. I don’t know what the plan is next year. The prize fund for [winning the GB4 Championship] is a good step to GB3, but you need a lot more than that for GB3.

“The next step after GB3, can we do FIA F3? Probably not. So I think GTs is definitely a step that we’re going to look at, GT4 or something to make that switch. It’s much easier to become a GT driver than it is to be an F1 driver.

“I’ll just keep working hard and stuff. If I don’t race, then I don’t race… it is what it is. I’ll just keep working for the team, and that’s what it is.”

Header photo credit: Artie C Photo