Institution news
To view the full list of teams competing this year, please visit the 2023 Teams page on the Formula Student website.
With the competition celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, all eyes will be on the former winners Cardiff University, Sheffield University, University of Modena (Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia) and University of Glasgow who will be looking to earn their second competition win this summer.
These four former winners will join over 100 other student teams looking to showcase their expertise and vehicles, including many teams from Germany, Sweden, Turkey, Serbia and Italy who are returning to the competition.
Formula Student tasks teams of university students to design and produce a working prototype for a single-seater race car, creating well-rounded engineers that have practical experience as well as their studies. Their engineering knowledge is tested during formal presentations that demonstrate the engineering decisions behind their car at the finals event held at Silverstone.
These are followed by on-track tests of their car's performance in dynamic events held along the National Pit Straight and Copse Corner of the Silverstone Circuit, which are designed to test vehicle reliability and performance in terms of acceleration, braking and handling.
For the first time in the history of the competition, 2023 will see more entrants building electric vehicles than any other engine type, reflecting the growing importance for engineering students to get experience in this technology before going into industry. 2023 also includes additional entrants featuring hybrid powertrains and alternative fuels, with the competition providing the perfect platform for young engineers to develop their skills in non-traditional vehicle development.
We are delighted with the continued growth in the FS-AI competition since its inception in 2019, with 20 teams taking up the challenge for autonomous vehicle development this year. The list of entrants reflects the most diverse list of teams to date, with students from Portugal, Ireland, Spain, India, France and Egypt entering alongside new and returning entries from the UK.
2023 also sees the sophomore year that the organisers are running a full Sim Racing series, following the inaugural series last year that was won by a team led by Michael Preston from Southampton University Formula Student Team, who went on to win the prestigious Autosport Williams Engineer of the Future Award 2022. Each month will see Formula Student and FSAE teams around the world participating in monthly races using the Assetto Corsa racing simulation software, leading to some friendly and competitive racing that is streamed live online via the Formula Student YouTube channel and will culminate a finals series of races alongside the multi-day event at Silverstone.
Naomi Rolfe, Project Manager of the Formula Student competition, said: "It is great to see the continued excitement from students around the world for the Formula Student competition and seeing teams develop their designs into working vehicles ready for the finals event at Silverstone. It proves that the future of engineering is in good hands."
“I’m particularly keen to see how the FS-AI teams perform and how they will leverage the expertise and tools they have built up over previous years. Also it will be fascinating to see how the teams who are entering an EV car for the first get one with this new technology.”
“We look forward to welcoming all teams to Silverstone this summer to take part in this year’s competition and wish all teams the best of luck.”
The Formula Student competition is grateful for the support of its partners Ansys, MathWorks and Bentley Motors, FS-AI Partners Babcock International, Category Sponsor RS Grass Roots and Sponsors Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains, Aston Martin Cognizant F1, Newton Europe, McLaren Applied, Multimatic and IPG Automotive, together with our longstanding supporters across multiple industries.
On behalf of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Formula Student Organising committee, we wish all teams the best of luck as they prepare their presentations and hone their skills for the finals event this July.
We also look forward to welcoming all former competitors, university staff, fans and guests back to Silverstone for all of the action of the finals, be sure to follow the competition's Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram channels for further details.