135 teams from 28 different countries will compete at Silverstone
Thousands of the world’s best young engineers are on track for Silverstone as Formula Student UK gears up for its 18th year.
The globally-renowned competition – run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers – is the world’s largest student motorsport event and challenges student engineers to design, build and race a single seat racing car in one year.
Formula Student is the key breeding ground for the Formula 1 pit lane, with competition alumni now working at every F1 team. Hundreds more have progressed to the world’s largest automotive firms where they’re helping to design and engineer the cars of tomorrow.
Applications were received from teams around the world, and 135 have successfully claimed a place for the competition at the home of British motorsport on 8-12 July.
Ross Brawn, former Team Principal of the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team, returns as competition patron and will meet students at the opening ceremony. Ambassadors this year include Paddy Lowe, Executive Director of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1, Willem Toet, Head of Aerodynamics at Sauber F1, former Formula 1 driver David Brabham and BBC science presenter Dallas Campbell.
Lining up at Silverstone will be 49 teams from UK universities, and the main Class 1 competition will see 30 electric vehicles and 80 cars with combustion engines.
These teams will be from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Turkey, UK and Ukraine.
Formula Student 2014 winners Delft University of Technology, from The Netherlands, will return to compete in July alongside the top UK car from Oxford Brookes University.
Jon Hilton, Chairman of Formula Student, said:
“Formula Student is the world’s most respected student motorsport event and the sheer number of applications we have received for this year’s event prove it’s going from strength to strength.
“It’s not an exaggeration to say that those students taking part are among the best young engineers in the world, and Formula Student provides them with a vital stepping stone in their careers. Whether they go on to work in Formula 1, or help design the cars and aeroplanes of the future, these students will go on to make a very real impact on our society.
”As always, I’m extremely excited to see what engineering innovations will be on show this year and I wish all teams taking part the best of luck.”
Formula Student will take place in Silverstone on 8-12 July. The cars are judged on their speed, acceleration, handling and endurance in a series of time-trial races, while the teams are tested on their design, costing and business presentation skills.
Formula Student Partners for 2015 include Robert Bosch UK, Mercedes Benz HPP, GKN and MathWorks.
