Monash Motorsport (www.monashmotorsport.com), from Australia, claimed victory at Formula Student 2018, the student racing-car event run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and held at Silverstone.

It saw off competition from 129 student teams from over 30 countries. Formula Student (FS) challenges university teams from across the world to design, build and race a single-seater racing car in one year.

The cars are then judged on their speed, acceleration and endurance, while the teams are tested on their design, costing and business presentation skills.

This year marked the first time that there was a driverless element to the competition, with some teams being tasked with developing a cost-effective software package to enable an Artificial Intelligence (AI) car to make its own decisions, and evolve to improve its own performance.

This new aspect of the competition ensures that FS continues to support industry by addressing the skills gap and giving mechanical-engineering students the opportunity for real-world experience of integrated electronics, software and systems engineering.

Team AUJ, from the National University of Sciences and Technology in Pakistan, fielded the first all-female team at the UK competition, with a car transported nearly 4,000 miles by air freight.

Terry Spall, chief FS judge, said: “Formula Student, now in its 20th year, has been producing highly sought-after graduate engineers, who have gone on to successful careers in leading automotive companies around the globe.

“Around 40,000 students have been through the FS experience, emerging as rounded and work-ready graduates.

“With the emergence of autonomous-vehicle technologies and the possibilities of driverless cars entering the market in the coming years, Formula Student has a role to play in producing the new skill sets that future automotive engineers will need.”