University of Sheffield wins Formula Student competition

A team of engineering students from University of Sheffield (@sheffielduni) won the Formula Student 2021 racing car competition, beating off fierce competition from over 30 teams at event held at Silverstone Race Circuit (@SilverstoneUK) at the weekend.

The competition, which is organised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, returned to the Silverstone track this month after a purely online event in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Team Sheffield Formula Racing joins 2017 winners Cardiff University as the only British winner of the competition, which gives students a real-world challenge to design, build and race single seater cars. It includes events designed to test their vehicle as well as formal presentations to show their engineering knowledge.

“Congratulations to all the teams who were able to make it to this year’s event in difficult circumstances, especially the winners from University of Sheffield,” said Andrew Deakin, Chairman of Formula Student.

“We hope everyone who participated enjoyed the experience and look forward to welcoming all teams back to Silverstone for 2022.”

For UK and international teams unable to attend the track event in Silverstone or running as Concept Class teams, the Institution organised an online competition with virtual racing simulation heats and finals. India’s Institute of Technology Bombay picked up awards for both Concept Class Design and Concept Class overall, marking a great year for the team despite not being able to join at Silverstone.

Formula Student’s AI competition, which launched in 2018, continues to attract new teams to develop autonomous driving systems and now has a second purpose-built prototype autonomous car for university teams to develop their systems. University of Bath’s Team Bath Racing Electric and the University of Edinburgh’s EUFS were winners of the AI competition’s two classes.

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Formula Student organising committee would like to thank MathWorks, IPG Automotive, GKN Innovation Centre, Babcock International, Cranfield University, RS Grass Roots, Newton Europe, BMW Group and Direct Line Group for their support of Formula Student, together with all the volunteers who contribute their time and expertise to ensure that the competition runs smoothly.

A list of full results can be found on the Formula Student website.