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Formula Student, is a competition between students from universities around the world that promotes excellence in engineering through multiple competitions where team members design, build, develop and race a single-seater race car.
Formula Student was born as a project to open the way for young engineers of all nationalities to the world of motorsport, specifically in the design and assembly of single-seaters. The first time this project saw the light of day was in 1979 on American soil thanks to Mark Marshek, a professor at the University of Houston (Texas) who started to pull the strings for the creation of a new racing car competition by recent graduates in applied sciences.
A few years later, in 1981, the first official competition of Formula SAE took place, organised in the State of Texas thanks to the University of Austin. A total of 6 teams made up of around 40 students took part, far from few taking into consideration the time and the location of the event. In the following years it grew in influence and participation, reaching the United Kingdom in 1998 and establishing itself in other countries around the globe (Europe, Japan, Australia, india…), hosting teams and students from a multitude of nationalities.
The competition consists of three static and five dynamic tests. Each vehicle must pass a series of technical inspections before it can participate in any of the dynamic tests, to ensure its safety and design based on good engineering techniques. The driver’s equipment also undergoes an inspection to prove compliance with regulations.
These technical inspections vary according to the nature of the vehicle, being different for electric, combustion and autonomous cars.
A business plan (based on a business idea with the car as the main protagonist) is presented to a jury, which we treat as investors interested in the project.
A jury assesses the team’s financial plan. It assesses whether the resources available are used as efficiently as possible, looking at the life cycle of the single-seater from manufacture to assembly.
All single-seater design decisions are evaluated and assessed in terms of the objectives set. The aim is to be consistent with the approach from the beginning of the season.
The car is tested on a eight shaped (8) track where the car’s cornering response is tested. It can be on dry or wet tarmac.
Acceleration test in a 75-metre straight line.
Classification for the endurance test, which offers two chances to achieve the best time. In this way, the car can enjoy a privileged position for the final test.
The last and most important test. It is 22 km on a circuit with the car at its maximum performance. Finishing it is the last “wall” that the teams must pass in the competition.
