Welcome to full throttle world of Formula Student

Formula 1 team budgets run into tens of millions of pounds and highly-paid engineers work round the clock to ensure complicated electronics and aerodynamics are perfect on the vital race day.

Commitment in the workshop of South Yorkshire’s SHU Racing is just as high as that in the pit lanes of a Grand Prix but the group of young engineers behind it are battling to win with just £17,000 to spend.

Last season was the first time the group, based at Sheffield’s Hallam University, entered the Formula Student competition.

Sponsored by Airbus, E.ON, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes Benz and Shell and run by the Institute for Mechanical Engineers, it attracts 120 universities from around the world to Silverstone and students are challenged to design and build a single-seat racing car in order to compete in static and dynamic events, which demonstrate their understanding and test the performance of the vehicle.

The SHU team, which is made up of 35 students picked from 250 who had applied, had just nine months to build a racing car from scratch which would pass the tough scrutiny process and then stand up to a series of gruelling stress and acceleration tests.

Their car is powered by an Aprilia 550cc engine which its engineers said keeps it light, weighing in at around 200kg. But although they managed to get the single-seater complete and transported to Silverstone for the day in July, disappointment hit when it passed its inspections and then failed to start.

Nathan Gould, 21, the team leader responsible for ironing out the problems this season, said although everyone was devastated at the time, it had made them more determined to succeed in 2012.

The mechanical and automotive engineering student, from Southend, Essex, said: “We were let down by the throttle position sensor, but we already have a solution.

“We are confident we will improve on last year. Even with the technical problems we encountered, we still came 75th out of a field of 127, which the judges told us was exceptionally good for a start-up team.”

Teams from 33 countries enter the Formula Student competition and it was clear that some had significantly more resources than the Sheffield team when they arrived at the racetrack in July.

Team principal Lewis Stead, 22, an electrical and electronic engineering student from Hull who will also drive the car this year, said the team from Stuttgart University was the most eye-catching.

He added: “Members of their team each had their own car, which had been provided by their sponsor, Audi, and where we had a rented van they had a huge, branded truck.

“We only started on the project in October and then had to find out how to build a car and then get it to Silverstone somehow, which a lot of people told us was impossible.”

Although SHU Racing realises it is unlikely to attract such major investment, it is hoping this year it can attract some cash and expertise from Yorkshire firms to boost its place in the final rankings.

Mark Sutherland, 21, also from Hull and a business and enterprise management student, is leading the business and sponsorship drive, and said firms could get involved for a relatively small amount of cash.

He added: “We have been trying to look for different companies to help us with sponsorship but it is currently proving quite difficult in the current financial climate.

“Some companies we have approached have said that if we had gone to them last year, they would have given us the money, but they can’t do it this year.”

The team is hoping to persuade a business to part with up to £400 to have its logo on the nose cone of the 2012 car and said a similar logo on the side pod would cost about £250.

But Mr Gould said any donation would be gratefully received and added: “Sheffield and Yorkshire has a fantastic manufacturing industry and we are looking to build partnerships with firms that could help technically as well as financially.

“Even if there was a company that could ring up and say ‘we will give you £50 worth of carbon fibre’ it would go a long way.”

Dr David Asquith, a lecturer in mechanical engineering at Hallam University, is overseeing the team, and said their efforts last year should be supported.

He added: “It was really frustrating for the team that they got the car built but then couldn’t get it running because of a minor technicality.

“But we are confident that if anything happens next time we will have the expertise to overcome it.”

Ferrari chance for teenager

A Leeds teenager has landed a dream role as one of just 11 young people from across the UK to be chosen by Ferrari for its three-year apprenticeship programme.

Georgina Slack, 18, of Bramley, has been interested in mechanics since she was a child and recently completed a two-year automotive course. She will now train with JCT600 Ferrari at its Brooklands dealership and will also attend 24 weeks of training at Ferrari North Europe’s new apprentice facilities in London where she will be taught skills in science, engineering and technology.

Craig Walton, service manager at JCT600 Ferrari, said: “To have been chosen from over 1,000 school-leavers is an exceptional achievement and one Georgina richly deserves.

“It was a rigorous selection process with aptitude tests, interviews and a two day work placement, but Georgina’s potential and enthusiasm stood out.”

Georgina, who met Business Secretary Vince Cable this week, said: “The opportunity to join one of the world’s most prestigious sports car brands is a dream come true.”