Engineering student secures placement year with Formula 1

Robin Gwilliam, mechanical engineering student and member of our Cardiff Racing team, is one of 5 students across the UK who will be joining the Formula 1 team for the placement year which is part of his Year in Industry degree.

He will be joining the engine and powertrain division design office, which designs components for the engines and transmissions of Williams Formula 1 cars. Over 400 students across the UK applied for the 5 positions with the Formula 1 team.

A member of our Formula Student Cardiff Racing team, Robin takes part in a range of events and this is how he found out about the position. The team takes part in the international Formula One student racing competition which pits university teams against one another to design, build and race a Formula 1 style car. They also participate in a number of outreach events engaging with the community and local schools to encourage young people to consider engineering as a career.

Robin was part of our Cardiff Racing team which this year designed and built the car which won the Formula One student competition. They were the first UK team to do so in the twenty year history of the competition.

Robin said: “The event at Silverstone was sponsored by the Williams Formula 1 team so it was there I found out they were offering placements. I was able to use the experience I had gained through Formula Student to my advantage when applying.”

Robin is already looking forward to helping design parts for the cars that he will then see racing in major Formula 1 competitions.