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Formula Student

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Formula Student
FrequencyAnnually
Location(s)Worldwide
CountryUnited Kingdom
Won by Edith Cowan University Racing

Formula Student is a student engineering competition held annually. Student teams from around the world design, build, test, and race a small-scale formula style racing car. The cars are judged on a number of criteria. It is run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and uses the same rules as the original Formula SAE with supplementary regulations.

Class definitions

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There are three entry classes in Formula Student, designed to allow progressive learning.

Formula Student Class (formerly Class 1)

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This is the main event, where teams compete with the cars they have designed and built. Teams are judged across six categories and must pass an inspection by judges before being allowed to compete for the dynamic events. There are usually 100-120 teams in this class.

Concept Class (formerly Class 2)

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This is a concept class for teams who only have a project and plan for a Class 1 car. It can include any parts or work that has been completed in the project so far but this is not necessary. Teams are judged on business presentation, cost and design. Schools can enter both FS Class and Concept Class cars, allowing Concept Class to be used for inexperienced students to practise their development in advance of a full Formula Student Class entry.

FS-AI

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In 2019 the FS-AI class was introduced for driverless cars. [1]

Class 1A (pre-2012)

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The 13th car of DUT Racing, the Formula Student team from the Delft University of Technology

This was an alternative fueled class with the emphasis placed upon the environmental impact of racing. A car from the previous year's Class 1 entry could be re-entered and re-engineered allowing the students to concentrate on the low carbon aspect of the competition without having to redesign a new chassis and ancillaries. Cars in Class 1A were judged in the same events alongside Class 1 however the cost category was replaced by one for sustainability and the endurance event had a greater emphasis placed upon measured emissions. Class 1A cars were scored and ranked independently of Class 1. Since 2012, both Petroleum and Alternative fueled cars have competed for places in the same rankings.

Class 2A (pre-2012)

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This was a concept class for teams who only had a project and plan for a Class 1A car. It could include any physical parts or work that had been completed for the project so far, but was not essential. Teams were judged on business presentation, cost and design. Schools could enter both Class 1A and Class 2A teams, with Class 2A allowing inexperienced students to gain competition experience in preparation for a full Class 1A entry.


Judging

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The cars are judged by industry specialists on the following criteria:

Static events

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  • Engineering design (150 points)
  • Cost & Manufacturing (115 points)
  • Business presentation (115 points)
  • Lap Time Simulation (20 points)
  • Technical inspection (comprising 6 tests): safety, chassis, noise, tilt, brake, and tech (no points)

Dynamic events

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  • Skidpad (figure of 8) (75 points)
  • 1 km autocross/sprint (100 points)
  • 75 m acceleration (75 points)
  • 22 km endurance (250 points) and fuel economy (100 points)

The winner of the event is the team with the highest number of points out of a maximum of 1000.[2]

History

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The first event was held at the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) proving ground in 1998. Following that, the event was held for three years at the NEC Birmingham between 1999 and 2001. The event was then held on the Go-Kart track at Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome between 2002 and 2006, before moving to Silverstone Circuit in 2007 where the competition remains until this day. The dynamic events have taken place on Luffield and Brooklands corners in the past but 2012 saw Copse corner and the National Circuit pit straight being used.

Formula Student partnered with Racing Pride in 2019 to support greater inclusivity across the British motorsport industry for LGBT+ fans, employees and drivers.[3]

The FS-AI class enabling driverless cars began in 2019.[4]

Winners

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Year Location Class 1 Points Best UK team Points
(position)
Class 1-200 Class 3 Class 1a
1998 MIRA United States UT Arlington University of Birmingham n/a n/a n/a
1999 NEC Birmingham United States Rochester IT Leeds University n/a Slovenia University of Maribor n/a
2000 NEC Birmingham United States CSU Pomona University of Hertfordshire n/a United Kingdom University of Huddersfield n/a
2001 NEC Birmingham United States Georgia Tech 913 Leeds University 891 (3) United Kingdom University of Birmingham United Kingdom University of Bath n/a
2002 Bruntingthorpe United States Georgia Tech 936 Brunel University 728 (4) United Kingdom University of Hertfordshire Italy University of Florence n/a
2003 Bruntingthorpe Canada University of Toronto 885 Oxford Brookes University 477 (5) Finland Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia United Kingdom Swansea University n/a
2004 Bruntingthorpe Australia RMIT University 907 Oxford Brookes University 601 (7) Germany UAS Stralsund United Kingdom University of Bath n/a
2005 Bruntingthorpe Canada University of Toronto 884 University of Hertfordshire 764 (7) United Kingdom Swansea University United Kingdom University of Bath n/a
2006 Bruntingthorpe Canada University of Toronto 844 Oxford Brookes University 802 (3) United Kingdom University of Hertfordshire Portugal Instituto Superior Técnico n/a
2007 Silverstone Australia RMIT University 925 University of Bath 785 (6) United Kingdom University of Hertfordshire United Kingdom University of Hertfordshire n/a
2008 Silverstone Germany University of Stuttgart 896 University of Bath 691 (4) United Kingdom University of Hertfordshire Netherlands TU Eindhoven United Kingdom University of Hertfordshire
2009 Silverstone Germany University of Stuttgart 792 University of Bath 715 (4) Germany TU Munich Iran Isfahan UT United Kingdom University of Hertfordshire
2010 Silverstone Germany TU Munich 848 University of Hertfordshire 716 (5) n/a Portugal Instituto Superior Técnico Switzerland ETH Zurich
Year Location Class 1 Points Best UK team Points
(position)
Class 1a Class 2 Class 2a
2011 Silverstone Germany University of Stuttgart 872 University of Hertfordshire 729 (3) Netherlands TU Delft (910 points) United Kingdom University of Bath United Kingdom University of Warwick
Year Location Class 1 Points Best UK team Points
(position)
Dynamic Events Winner Endurance Event Winner Static Events Winner Class 2
2012 Silverstone Sweden Chalmers UT 850 Oxford Brookes University 719 (7) Germany TU Munich Sweden Chalmers UT Australia Monash University Portugal Instituto Superior Técnico
2013 Silverstone Switzerland ETH Zurich 921 University of Huddersfield 503 (15) Switzerland ETH Zurich Switzerland ETH Zurich Switzerland ETH Zurich United Kingdom Imperial College London
2014 Silverstone Netherlands TU Delft 855 Oxford Brookes University 733 (6) Netherlands TU Delft Germany University of Stuttgart Germany University of Stuttgart Netherlands TU Eindhoven
2015 Silverstone Netherlands TU Delft 909 University of Bath 748 (4) Netherlands TU Delft United Kingdom University of Bath Germany University of Stuttgart United Kingdom University of Bath
2016 Silverstone Germany University of Stuttgart 851 University of Bath 708 (4) Germany University of Stuttgart Germany University of Stuttgart Switzerland ETH Zurich Italy University of Rome
2017 Silverstone United Kingdom Cardiff University 855 Cardiff University 855 (1) United Kingdom University of Birmingham United Kingdom University of Birmingham United Kingdom Cardiff University United Kingdom University of Bath
2018 Silverstone Australia Monash University 864 Oxford Brookes University 772 (2) Australia Monash University Australia Monash University United Kingdom University of Bath United Kingdom University of Bath
2019 Silverstone Italy Uni MoRE 873 Oxford Brookes University 754 (2) Germany UAS Zwickau Italy Uni MoRE Italy Uni MoRE United Kingdom University of Portsmouth
2020 not held
2021 Silverstone United Kingdom University of Sheffield 753.9 University of Sheffield 753.9 (1) United Kingdom University of Central Lancashire United Kingdom University of Sheffield United Kingdom University of Sheffield India Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
2022 Silverstone United Kingdom University of Glasgow 792.9 University of Glasgow 792.9 (1) United Kingdom University of Glasgow Malta University of Malta United Kingdom University of Southampton Portugal University of Porto
2023 Silverstone Italy Uni MoRE 834.6 Staffordshire University 719.4 (2) Italy Uni MoRE Italy Uni MoRE United Kingdom Oxford Brookes University Egypt Ain Shams University
2024 Silverstone Australia Edith Cowan University 915.2 Cardiff University 714.8 (2) Australia Edith Cowan University Australia Edith Cowan University United Kingdom University of Glasgow United Kingdom University of Glasgow

Most wins

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Team Class 1 wins
Germany University of Stuttgart 4
Canada University of Toronto 3
United States Georgia Tech 2
Australia RMIT University
Netherlands TU Delft
Italy Uni MoRE
United Kingdom Cardiff University 1
Sweden Chalmers UT
United States CSU Pomona
Australia Edith Cowan University
Switzerland ETH Zurich
Australia Monash University
United States Rochester IT
Germany TU Munich
United Kingdom University of Glasgow
United Kingdom University of Sheffield
United States UT Arlington

Support

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Patron: Ross Brawn (former team principal of Mercedes Formula One team),

Ambassadors of Formula Student include David Brabham, Paddy Lowe, Leena Gade, Dallas Campbell, Mike Gascoyne, The Lord Drayson, Baron Drayson (Former Minister of Science) and James Allison.

Notable judges

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "History of Formula Student". www.imeche.org. Institution of Mechanical Engineers. 11 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Formula Student Rules". www.imeche.org. Institution of Mechanical Engineers. 11 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Racing Pride join Formula Student". www.imeche.net. Institution of Mechanical Engineers. 5 August 2019.
  4. ^ "History of Formula Student". www.imeche.org. Institution of Mechanical Engineers. 11 March 2024.
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