Every year, teams of young engineers from all over the world compete against each other in the "Formula Student" engineering competition. Alongside their studies, they design and build formula style racing cars that will be pitted against some 700 rival teams. This requires countless hours of work, a strong team spirit and extra support from sponsors. Frequently the competition leads to valuable contacts for fledgling careers – as with the Aachen team Ecurie Aix and Knorr-Bremse.
It is the morning of 6 May 2019. There is a palpable air of excitement in the Aachen-Münchner lecture hall of RWTH Aachen University. The final touches are being applied to the stage equipment, the presentation, the food for all the guests. But there is another reason why the students of the Ecurie Aix team are so agitated. In a few hours they will unveil two major results from their many weeks of hard work. This is a premiere – and not only for the parents, friends, lecturers and sponsors present. Many of the Formula Student team members are also about to see the two racing cars they have designed – an electric car and a self-driving vehicle – for the first time "in real life", rather than as computer models on a screen.
The real moment the two racing cars being unveiled here were conceived, however, came several months ago. Back in September, when last season's cars were completing their final laps around European race tracks, the development team was reassembled for the new season. The students were tasked with building two cars, each posing a completely different mammoth challenge: First, an entirely new vehicle, a “revolutionary car” with an electric drive. Second, they were to convert last year's electric car into a fully self-driving vehicle – a major task and a lengthy innovation process for the sensor and actuator experts (of tomorrow).
The unpaid engineers will put in many early mornings and late nights before the car is ready to race. Almost every part must be individually designed and built. For example, the carbon cockpit of the electric vehicle has to meet stringent safety requirements to protect the driver while also being lightweight and highly aerodynamic. Some components are produced by the team in the campus workshops of RWTH Aachen University. In particular, complex components tuned for optimum functionality, such as the cockpit, are created here. However, it would be impossible for them to manufacture every component themselves. This is where sponsors such as Knorr-Bremse come into play. For example, Thomas Himmelsbach's team of prototyping experts at the Munich site has produced the wheel carriers for Ecurie Aix vehicles for several years.
Aside from working on a voluntary basis, Formula Student participants have to juggle the time spent working on their racing cars with their already demanding studies. "The intensive production phase overlaps with the exam period," explains Carl Hergeth, who is in his second year as Head of Sponsorship at Ecurie Aix. But the hard work and stress are always rewarded. "Throughout the season, student teams are confronted with technical and human challenges that others only encounter later in their careers. Finding the solutions on your own initiative is what defines Formula Student as an experience," says Hergeth.
Throughout the season, student teams are confronted with technical and human challenges that others only encounter later in their careers. Finding the solutions on your own initiative is what defines Formula Student as an experience.
Carl Hergeth – Head of Sponsorship at Ecurie Aix
This head start in experience does not remain a secret to the industry, especially the sponsors. The examples of Frederic Bovenschulte and Arne Schneider show the benefits that can come from working with companies such as Knorr-Bremse through Formula Student. The two Ecurie Aix alumni first encountered Knorr-Bremse as a sponsor, then decided to apply for graduate positions – with success. With the support of the company, the move from Aachen to Munich, including finding a place to live, was no major hurdle. "You get involved in so many different areas here and you can really contribute to the work of the team," says Bovenschulte, who worked on remanufacturing pressure sensors in Munich. On top of their compulsory internship, Bovenschulte and Schneider completed a voluntary internship and a Bachelor's thesis respectively.
Back in Aachen it is now late afternoon, the team has started clearing up. The racing cars eace08 and eace07.d – the "d" stands for "driverless" – were unveiled to applause; the presentation went as planned. Over the next few days, the track-ready racing cars will be put through the test phase. The aim here is to collect as much data as possible in order to get the best out of the cars in the upcoming races. On the major European race circuits, where Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton usually go head-to-head, eace08 and eace07.d will compete against cars from other Formula Student racing teams in various disciplines. And while the two cars will complete the final leg of their tour in Hockenheim in August, the young engineers in Aachen are already gearing up for a new season – with two new racing cars.