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Trackside’s Keith Collantine met a man who is one of Britain’s top motor sport prospects – and a thoroughly nice bloke.

As I talk to Mike, he’s beavering away underneath his trailer’s espresso machine trying to wring a cup of coffee out of it for me. The glamorous world of motorsport this ain’t.

Thousands of young racers dream of lining up at the British Grand Prix alongside Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. Briton Mike Conway has a very real chance of achieving the dream.

The 22-year-old is sweeping all before him in the prestigious British Formula Three series, and is managed by former F1 racers Martin Brundle and Mark Blundell.

I arrive at Silverstone on a chilly, blustery Saturday in August. The home of the British Grand Prix is braced for one of its biggest weekends of the year.

A host of Formula One racing legends have congregated for the first Grand Prix Masters race in Britain. Up and down the paddock fans are autograph-hunting the like of Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi and Derek Warwick.

But I shun the busy end of the pits, heading down towards the first corner where the trucks and trailers of the British Formula Three championship appear to be huddled against the cold.

Just like Formula One, Formula Three has its top teams and tail-enders. I head to Raikkonen-Robertson racing, the crack outfit backed by F1 racer Kimi Raikkonen and his manager, Steve Robertson.

I’m here to meet Mike Conway who’s with his press assistant in the RR team truck, piled high with car parts and tools and, bizarrely, an espresso machine. It’s not working but once Conway’s given it a tweak it starts pumping out precious caffeine.

He’s storming F3 this year and blazing a path to the upper echelons of motor sport. And it does no harm that he is managed by 2MB – the management firm of ITV-F1 pundits Martin Brundle and Mark Blundell.

Perched on a table, Conway’s delivers his answers with immediate, almost abrupt self-confidence. He explains: “They’ve got experience of racing, so they know what it’s all about. Plus, they’re in the Grand Prix paddock every weekend.”

Having such well-connected managers has paid dividends. When F1 made its annual visit to Silverstone a vacancy came up in the DPR-Direxiv team, which races in the GP2 series the F1 teams scout for new talent.

2MB plonked Conway in the car. Despite having no experience of the more powerful machinery he finished tenth and eleventh in the two races with two consistent performances against much more experienced rivals.

“We’re looking at GP2 for next year at the moment, as long as we can get the results this year,” Conway confirms.

Competition in F3 is fierce and intrigue surrounds Conway’s team mate Bruno Senna - nephew of the great F1 racer Ayrton.

Conway has emphatically held the upper hand so far and he is not about to do the Brazilian any favours: “We get on OK. But he’s just a team mate, and we’re both there to beat each other.”

Conway is dedicated but realistic. He knows that you need more than just talent to get into F1 – luck, timing and money all play a part. “Formula One is the ultimate goal,” he says, “but we’ll have to see if it’s available for us.”

“There are loads of other options if you don’t get to F1. Champ Car in America has picked up a lot again, there’s a lot of good drivers in it and they’ve brought out the new car for next year. A few drivers I know are thinking of going there for next year.”

But in the meantime he’s got the F3 crown to pin down. I wonder if he’s still trying to win every race or is just trying to score points consistently to guarantee the championship? “We’re only halfway through the season so it’s a bit too early to be going conservative. We’re still pushing for the wins all the time.”

He’s as good as his word – after meeting Conway in August he won the next three races on the trot to take a commanding lead in the series. We’ll surely be hearing more from him next year.