In the introduction he drew attention to the unique monoposts of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the CTU in Prague, from the second oldest FS.02 to last year's monopost, which became famous as the first hybrid student formula car in the world. This was followed by words of appreciation for the results that the team has achieved over the past fifteen years while studying hard at the faculty. The following moments belonged to the guests of honour. The first speaker was Ing. Martin Hrdlička, Ph.D., head of chassis and aggregate development at Škoda Auto, then Ing. Radek Tichánek, Ph.D., academic staff member as team advisor and also doc. Ing. Jan Řezníček, CSc., as a former vice-dean for pedagogical activities. All of them, although with different points of view, did not spare praise and gave many arguments for appreciating the purposeful activity of the team members, which later, after graduation, will be perfectly evaluated in their professional career as their predecessors.
In the second part of the programme, the new formula car was introduced. After a dramatic unveiling of the previously secret monopost, they presented the FS.15. In his speech, the team captain Martin Starman evaluated the 15 years of work of predecessors and current colleagues. He referred to this year's monopost as an important milestone for the CTU CarTech team and concluded by thanking all the guys and girls for their work and immense efforts throughout the history to the successes of the last few years. He then handed the stage over to the team's technical manager, Filip Klier. Filip detailed the design of this year's hybrid formula car and outlined the main differences that take the FS.15 to the next level.
Compared to last year's version, the biggest changes were related to the hybrid and combustion powertrain, aerodynamics, where there was a large increase in downforce, a weight reduction of 12 kg, shortening of the chassis by 60 mm and the ability of the pilot to change the stiffness of the rear axle suspension while driving. Equally important changes were improvements to the SW for the electric motors, better cooling of the battery itself, new precision-cast ballasts, lighter carbon wheels, clutch and steering column, and electro-pneumatic shifting.
The frequent applause was frankly long. They expressed their appreciation of the speakers and the student team members and their conviction that the 15th Formula will once again be among the best in Europe. The first international competition will take place in the second week of July and all engine fans at Faculty of Mechanical Engineering are already keeping their fingers crossed for them.
