With the aim of achieving further international distinctions, the Frederick University Formula Racing Team (FUF Racing Team) is participating in the Formula Student Alpe Adria International Competition, taking place in Croatia from 18 to 23 August 2026.

Comprising Frederick University students, the team is participating in a highly demanding international competition, having already achieved significant success in similar events.

In 2025, the team won second place at the International Student Engineering and Innovation Competition in Greece, while in 2024 it secured third place at the Formula SAE Student competition in Italy. That same year, it was awarded the Unicars Motorsport Award by the Cyprus Sports Journalists Association (EAK). Drawing on significant experience, expertise and a strong ambition to continue its upward trajectory, the team is in Croatia aiming for another strong performance and further distinctions.

The FUF Racing Team has earned international recognition in the fields of applied engineering and automotive technology.

Under the guidance of Professor Antonis Lontos, a member of the academic staff of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the team’s students are involved in every stage of the single-seater’s development, from design and analysis to construction, testing and optimisation.

“We are particularly proud of the FUF Racing Team, its journey and the distinctions it has achieved at international level. The team is another expression of Frederick University’s long-standing tradition and strong presence in the field of Engineering, as well as an example of how knowledge can be transformed into practice. With Engineering and Technology at its core, the FUF Racing Team brings together students from different academic disciplines who collaborate on the development of a complex and demanding project. We wish the team every success in this year’s competition in Croatia and are confident that it will proudly represent Frederick University and Cyprus,” says Ms Natassa Frederickou, President of the Frederick University Council.

The FUF Racing Team is the first Cypriot university team to design and build a Formula-style single-seater racing car and participate in an international competition, contributing to raising Cyprus’s profile in the fields of university engineering and student motorsport.

Participation in the team is one of the co-curricular activities offered by Frederick University, giving students the opportunity to transform theoretical knowledge into practical experience through a particularly demanding, interdisciplinary project.

Although Formula Student is fundamentally a complex engineering and technology project, its requirements extend far beyond the design and construction of a racing single-seater. Teams are essentially required to operate as a complete product development team: they must design and build the vehicle, manage the project and available resources, develop a business and production plan, present and document their decisions, and establish the identity and design of the project.

This multidimensional nature of Formula Student is also reflected in the composition of the FUF Racing Team. The majority of its members come from Engineering program, while students from the Department of Architecture, the Department of Business Administration, and the Department of Arts and Communication also participate. Each student contributes through their own field of expertise towards a common goal, experiencing first-hand the interdisciplinary collaboration that characterises complex projects in the real world.

Through the FUF Racing Team, students therefore apply not only knowledge of mechanical engineering, design, electronics, materials, aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics. They also develop skills in project management, business planning, communication and presentation, creative problem-solving, teamwork and innovation. These are skills they will later be called upon to apply in their professional lives.

Creating a racing single-seater is a complex and demanding process. Team members study, design, build, test and improve the car from scratch, manufacturing a significant proportion of its components themselves. To achieve this, they make use of the modern equipment and specialised laboratories of the School of Engineering, gaining valuable experience in real-world conditions while developing a complex technological project.

This multidimensional approach lies at the heart of international Formula Student competitions. Evaluation is not based solely on the speed or on-track performance of the single-seater. Teams are assessed on their engineering design and technical choices, vehicle construction and reliability, as well as their business and production plans, costing, presentation and ability to substantiate and defend their decisions.

The FUF Racing Team’s participation in Croatia represents another important step in Frederick University’s long-standing tradition in engineering and racing vehicle construction. This tradition dates back to 1969, when students of the Engineering Department of the then Technical and Economic School of Nicosia—which later evolved into Frederick University—built the first racing car.

Today, the FUF Racing Team continues this tradition by combining academic knowledge with practical application, technology with innovation, and education with real-world experience. Through participation in international competitions, the University gives its students the opportunity to test their knowledge and skills in a demanding international environment and showcase the quality of Cypriot university education.

Our University community wishes the FUF Racing Team a successful participation in this year’s competition in Croatia.