Hywel Lloyd, 23, of Corwen, has earned rave reviews for his performances on the Formula Three scene, traditionally seen as a stepping stone for young drivers looking to mark their mark in the demanding world of Formula One.

And one man who should know all about that is John Booth, of Sheffield-based Manor Motorsport, one of the premier nurseries of F1 talent.

John's school numbers among its old boys modern-day motor racing greats like world champion Lewis Hamilton and his predecessor, 2007 champ Kimi Raikkonen, as well as former F1 racer Antonio Pizzonia and Le Mans 24-hour winner Guy Smith.

Recently-crowned F1 champ Hamilton was the Formula Renault UK champion in 2003, driving for Manor.

Booth took a look at Hywel recently over two days at South Wales circuit Pembrey and was so impressed he asked him to do some work for Manor and also took him over to Valencia just before Christmas for some warm weather testing.

He said: "I don't think next season's Formula Three International Class will be too much of a problem for him.

"I think he has the potential to go all the way."

The four days Lloyd and his CF Racing team spent at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia will have cemented that impression, according to Lloyd's father and team manager Harry, who said: "We're really grateful to Manor for giving us the chance to go over to Spain.

"It went very well for us but there was no sightseeing – just hard work with Hywel doing about 900 miles round the circuit.

"We were working from 6.30 in the morning to 10 at night and what impressed everyone was Hywel's fitness – I didn't think he would last four days.

"He impressed me and he impressed a lot of other people as well.

"He didn't put a foot wrong and he didn't break anything and he was as sharp and focussed at the end of the last day as he was on the first morning.

"It meant we could get a lot done and try a lot of things and we feel now that we've got a really competitive car for next season."

John said: "Hywel is an intelligent lad and has a very good understanding of a car – he actually understands what's happening like a mechanic.

"Not having a team mate might be a difficulty but he certainly has the potential to be a front runner in Formula Three next season.

"It's difficult to predict how far anyone will go but I have been very impressed with his performance.

Hywel said: "It was great to get to Valencia. It's a very good circuit and hopefully the work we've done will stand us in good stead for next season.

"It would have been no good staying at home. The car won't work in the sort of temperatures we've been having.

"But over there we were able to do a lot and I was able to give the engineer feedback about the things we were trying on the car."

For more information on Hywel and CF Racing, visit his new website, www.hywellloyd.com.