What common issues did you see with teams at Silverstone this year?
The first commonality is a positive one. Just how good the teams are at cost and how amazing they are at making their budgets stretch as far as they do. This is going to serve them very well in their future careers. In terms of issues I think quite a few teams need to double check the rules to make sure they aren’t making technical infringements for the cost event and incurring expensive silly penalty points for late delivery or incorrectly submitted documents.
What areas are still being overlooked?
Quite a few teams aren’t as keen to speak about their real world budget as you might think. We all know that the FS rules give us arbitrary costs tables for the car, but the judges really want to know how you squeezed out every last penny from your real budget and made the car as quick and reliable as possible without spending excessively to do that. If you can openly talk about your real world experience you will win the judges over quite easily.
What can teams expect at Learn to Win this year?
A really big announcement on the future of Cost Event for the 2018 event. Watch this space…!
How important is Learn to Win for a team’s strategy?
This event sets the tone for the whole year. It gives you a vital opportunity to sense check your plans with the actual judges that will be evaluating your cars at the event. I only wish we had this opportunity when I competed.
What are you excited about for Formula Student 2018?
20 years of Formula Student in the UK. That is crazy when you think about it. I remember attending the first events at MIRA and the NEC as an undergrad and to think we are here now with such an amazing event and thousands of past participants with all those unbelievable cars is wonderful. Personally I am looking forward to all the old universities bringing their historic cars to event so we can all see just how far we have come.
What should teams be doing in the run up to Christmas?
Get Hectic… It will pay you back big time in June.
Any other advice for teams this year?
Don’t forget that this event is also (and some would argue most importantly) an educational event. You still need to get a degree and a good job once you have graduated. Make sure you factor time into your FS schedule and car build so that team can still get a degree, a job and have a social life at the same time.
Also try and have fun along the way too.
This next year of harder work that you can imagine and the experiences, friends and contacts you will make will change your life… Trust me.