Formula Student Germany 2023
Formula Student Germany was our second competition for the 2023 season. We were participating in both the Driverless and Electric categories at Formula Student Germany. The competition was filled with challenges and learnings, read more about our journey at Formula Student Germany 2023 below.
To read about our Formula Student East 2023 journey click here
Event Results
Our journey at Formula Student Germany 2023
First Test of Formula Student Germany
After finally setting everything up at the camping area, we were ready to move into the pits. Just as in FS East, the first competition challenge of Formula Student Germany (FSG) was the Battery Inspection. The excited Electrical Safety Officers (ESOs) of Chalmers Formula Student once again headed off to be questioned by the judges of FSG who would inspect our battery and charging cart. After our accumulator check, our Chief Mechanics gathered their tools and moved into the mechanical inspection tent with excitement and tense feelings about what was to come. The terrifying rumors about the strict German judges were now to be unveiled.
Testing the Drivers
The morning of the third day started out with lovely weather, and the drivers were in a good mood. It was finally their time to visit the scrutineering tent for the egress and driver safety test. With all four drivers successfully passing the driver test, we moved back to the mechanical inspection to continue our checklist with the German judges.
Statics and Further Dynamics Inspections
On the fourth day of FSG, all the static events took place. With a sharp and well-prepared Business Plan Presentation, our responsible team members presented their pitch to the judges and the rest of the audience. With a tight schedule, we moved on to the Engineering Design Event, followed by the Cost and Manufacturing Event. In these events, the team presented the competition vehicle's design aspects and described the car from a financial perspective to design and cost judges. After rolling the car out of the presentation booth, we were ready for further dynamics inspections, and it was finally time to wrap up our checklists from the scrutineering. After successfully completing the Accumulator, Mechanical, and Electrical Inspections, we were ready to move on to the Weight, Tilt, Rain, and EBS tests. While the entire team was eagerly waiting for the Chief Mechanics and ESOs to come back with the car from the inspection tent, they finally rolled out of the tent with great news. With a weight of 227.5 kg, our competition vehicle was now fully passed and ready to race. At the very last minute of the day, we managed to get a run in the Driverless Skidpad event, resulting in a second-place finish. The commentators could not believe their eyes as the blue and yellow-colored Margareta rolled into the event queue at the last minute and achieved a top-three run.
Time to Race
As all the competition vehicles of FSG lined up, it was now time to prepare for the dynamic events. Day five started with a Manual Skidpad. It was Toni's time to show the Formula Student world what the drivers from Chalmers can do. Unfortunately, when moving on to the Driverless and Manual Acceleration Event, we did not score due to some mechanical and autonomous systems issues, resulting in a DQ and DNF. Even though the results were worse than expected, we kept our heads in the game and directed our focus on fixing the issues before the next event. As a result, the team not only managed to participate in the upcoming Driverless Trackdrive event but also achieved the best lap time. After a successful first-place finish in DV Trackdrive, the team moved on to the Manual Autocross, allowing Tim to push Margareta to her limits. Tim managed to achieve a great time in the Manual Autocross event, but unfortunately, we ran into some autonomous issues again, resulting in a DNF in the Driverless Autocross.
The Last Day of the Season
As the dynamic events were coming to an end, so was FSG and the competition season for Chalmers Formula Student 23. The team's last event for this season was the Endurance event, where the driver Hjalmar managed to drive Margareta for 6 complete laps until the car ran into technical issues, resulting in a DNF. Even though the team encountered several technical issues this year, resulting in a DNF, the team is happy about the overall year's performance and sees it as a great improvement from previous CFS teams.
Looking back, our time at Formula Student Germany 2023 was a true historic milestone for Chalmers Formula Student. We learned that mistakes do not defeat you, German judges are also humans, and that no matter the competition, you can always reach the top. This led to a great end to our 2023 season, placing us 16th in the EV Category and 1st in the Driverless Category for Formula Student Germany. Our first gold since 2017.
