Watch student racing car winners go head-to-head following the Grand Prix

To mark the 20th anniversary of Formula Student, the student engineering design event run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, we are holding a one-off race at Silverstone on Qualifying Day of the Formula One British Grand Prix. The 100m acceleration race will see the winning car from the first event in 1998, from The University of Texas Arlington, go wheel to wheel against last year’s winner from Cardiff University.

Formula Student challenges university teams from across the world to design, build and race a single-seater racing car in one year. The cars are judged on their speed, acceleration and endurance, while the teams are tested on their design, costing and business presentation skills.

The race between the University of Texas and Cardiff University will be a chance to see how technology and design have evolved over the past two decades. Cardiff University was the first UK winner of the event, beating off competition from almost 100 other teams.

Partners and sponsors of this year’s competition include, GKN plc, Jaguar Land Rover, Mathworks, Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains, Robert Bosch Ltd. ExxonMobil, Infiniti, MBDA Missile Systems, MAHLE Powertrain, Ricardo and PTC.  

Notes to Editors

• Contact the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Press Office on 020 7973 1261 or email media@imeche.org
• The Institution of Mechanical Engineers was established in 1847 and has some of the world’s greatest engineers in its history books. It is one of the fastest growing professional engineering institutions. Headquartered in London, we have operations around the world and over 120,000 members in more than 140 countries working at the heart of the most important and dynamic industries such as the automotive, rail, aerospace, medical, power and construction industries. www.imeche.org.