Formula Student

The competition

The world's largest design competition for students: build, present, drive - and win as a team.

Join in Saison & Team

Formula Student is the world's largest engineering design competition for students. Every year, students develop, design, and manufacture a race car and compete with it at various events against other universities.

The first Formula Student competition took place in 1981 in Michigan, USA. In 1998, the first European competition was held. Today, many events are organized all over the world. Formula Student Germany, held at Hockenheimring since 2006, has developed into the most important event of this kind.

To win, you need more than speed. Non-technical skills and knowledge about race car development are equally important - from Business Plan Presentation and Engineering Design to the Cost & Manufacturing Report.

Formula Student originally started primarily with combustion engines. Accordingly, the oldest class is Formula Student Combustion (FSC). This class still exists today, even though its relevance is gradually declining. Driven by innovation, another class was added in 2010: Formula Student Electric (FSE). In this class, teams must develop a fully electric powertrain. The only limits are defined by the rules, including, for example, a 600V limit and the use of an accumulator (no fuel cells). The accumulator type itself is not restricted, making Formula Student Electric one of the most diverse electric racing series.

Formula Student Germany was the first Formula Student competition to decide that from 2024 onward only electric race cars will be invited, with a growing focus on autonomous driving.

Formula Student Driverless (FSD) was added in 2017 - again driven by innovation. In this class, the race car drives fully autonomously.

Technical Inspection - Scrutineering

To participate in the driving disciplines, the built race car must pass technical inspection, called scrutineering. For electric vehicles like ours, this includes:

Electrical Scrutineering

Because of the high voltages and power levels at which the vehicles operate, they must include appropriate safety mechanisms. Examples include insulation monitoring and emergency shutdown if the accumulator leaves its safe operating range.

Tech and Safety

The race car must be safe. This includes, for example, steering safety, frame structure safety, and more. In addition, the driver must be able to exit the vehicle within 5 seconds.

Tilt Table

In the tilt table test, the vehicle is tilted to 45°. No liquids may leak and no components may detach. At up to 60°, the upper wheels must still remain in contact with the rotating surface.

Rain Test

For electric vehicles, it is also verified whether the race car is sufficiently protected against rain and properly insulated. This is a critical safety factor, especially for electric cars.

Brake Test

The brake test verifies that the vehicle can lock all four wheels simultaneously to bring the car to a fast, straight stop.

Dynamics

Endurance

With up to 250 points, Endurance accounts for the largest share of the 1000 points available across all disciplines. The vehicle is tested over a 22-kilometer distance for durability and reliability. During the run, energy consumption is continuously measured and later used in efficiency scoring.

Efficiency

Efficiency is weighted with up to 75 points and is based on energy consumption during Endurance, while also considering the lowest achieved consumption in the evaluation.

Autocross

In this discipline, the developed race car must complete an 800-meter handling course with hairpins, chicanes, and slalom sections. This can earn the team up to 100 points.

Acceleration

In the acceleration test, the vehicle's performance from standstill over a 75-meter distance is measured. This discipline is worth up to 50 points.

In addition, this discipline is also run in the Driverless class, where up to 75 additional points can be achieved.

Skid Pad

In skid pad, the race car's lateral acceleration capability is evaluated while driving a figure-eight with a lane width of 3 meters. Up to 50 points are available in this discipline.

Additionally, the car also completes the course autonomously in the Driverless discipline, where up to 75 extra points can be earned.

Statics

Business Plan Presentation

In the Business Plan Presentation, we pitch an imaginary business case that is broadly related to our prototype race car. The jury evaluates how attractive the pitch is for potential investors.

Cost and Manufacturing Event

In this event, worth up to 100 points, we present our calculated production and assembly costs and justify why we selected specific component variants instead of possibly cheaper alternatives. We also explain what would need to change for potential series production.

Engineering Design

In Engineering Design, worth up to 150 points, we explain to a jury why we engineered the vehicle exactly the way we did.