The CarTech team was very successful this year. It looks like you guys have tweaked the FS.15 formula to near perfection?
Perfection is a strong word, but we certainly weren't far off. Over the past fifteen years we have been gradually improving our monoposts and this year we entered the competition with an improved hybrid. The front axle is powered by two electric motors, the rear by an internal combustion engine. Compared to last year's version, the biggest changes were related to the hybrid and combustion drive, aerodynamics, where there was a big increase in downforce, weight reduction by 12 kg, shortening of the chassis by 60 mm and the ability of the pilot to change the stiffness of the rear 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.
What successes have you achieved this year at competitions in tough foreign competition?
In this year's competitions, despite strong competition from teams from European universities, we won first place in the Netherlands and Austria, third place in the Czech Republic and second place in Croatia. Winning in Austria is extremely valuable because the best teams always meet there. In addition, we brought home a number of gold medals from sub-disciplines and sub-categories. Let's start in Holland, the first race and all gold medals. Out of 8 sub-disciplines we managed to beat all other teams in 7 of them and deservedly took the overall championship. In Austria it was not so clear-cut. There was a lot of competition, and even though we won in Holland we were still not seen as a threat. No wonder we never finished on the podium last season... But everything was different, our car was not only competitive, it was better, faster. But nobody could beat us in acceleration this season. Sometimes it takes a little bit of luck to make success a reality. In Austria, we were in a fight for victory with the German team from Karlsruhe and in the end we beat them by a little more than 3 points. We wanted to win the race in the Czech Republic and build on the previous races, but unfortunately we didn't succeed and ended up in 3rd place. We wanted to learn from our mistakes and win our last race. At that time, everyone knew that it would be the last race with an internal combustion engine formula and that's how it was approached. Just to enjoy everything one last time. We were doing well in the results, we were setting the best times on the track, but we were also trying to defend our car to the judges in the best possible way. We finished in a nice 2nd place, just 1.6 points away from 1st place. I would sum up the season by saying that the trophies won't even fit in our display case.
It is an impressive show of achievement. Still, you didn't win on home soil compared to last year. What happened?
Everything went well in Most until the last discipline. We finished the endurance, but at the end of the endurance discipline a hose from the catch can came loose, the judges found a few drops of oil on the diffuser, which disqualified us and we lost a total of 425 points. Fortunately, most of the internal combustion engine cars did not finish this discipline and we had excellent results in the static disciplines, so we finished in third place. It reminded us that we always have to check everything carefully before the competition, even repeatedly.
Have you experienced any extraordinary success at competitions?
Yes, in Croatia we had the biggest crowd of fan spectators in Endurance since we can remember. And also Mr. Mate Rimac came to greet us in the pit. He took a look at our hybrid, asked questions and expressed his great appreciation to the team. That was very valuable to us.
Despite your achievements, you end up innovating a hybrid monopost car. Is this due to a change in the rules of the international Formula Student competition or the influence of the European Green Deal?
I would be lying if I said that this is not about the impact of the Green Deal or the ban on the category of combustion engine formula cars in Germany. It certainly has a big impact on the whole situation. But I don't want to get into the deatils of it, I have my opinion on the whole thing, but in this case it's not about me, it's about the team. The team is important to me, we need to pull together. The situation is as follows: It's our decision, and it has to do with the future of European competitions. Our biggest competitors for years have been the teams of German universities and we still want to compare ourselves with the best. However, the Germans have now switched to all-electric drives, which guarantees them the opportunity to race at domestic events. So as you can see, if we want to stay at the top and race against the best we need to adapt and take on new challenges.
You recently announced that you are teaming up with the student formula team at Faculty of Electrical Engineering to compete under the name eForce. What led you to drop the CarTech name and what is being carried over to the eForce brand?
It was preceded by a long negotiation. The Dean of Faculty of Electrical Engineering (FEL) pushed to keep the original name eForce and we considered it more important to keep our monopost colour scheme. We know that the judges and especially the spectators perceive the colours of the car the strongest during the competitions and the name comes second to them. And on the results lists we were listed as CTU Prague anyway, and very few people would look for us under the name CTU CarTech in the competition categories' listings. We were all about identity, so our formula will compete under the modified name of eForce Prague Formula, but in red and blue colors. Spectators and fans will easily recognize us.
Will the mechanical engineers be heavily involved in the preparation of the 2024 monopost car or will the main work be entrusted to colleagues from FEL?
You cannot say that the merger would "eat" each other. I'd estimate a future division of work in almost 50/50. Mechanical engineers will always be important in a merged team because electric formulas are not just about the battery, electric motors and other electrical equipment. The machinists have 15 years of experience with a design that works reliably yet allows for quick service and repair. We have managed to build the world's first hybrid formula car in the Formula Student competition, and that shows our technical maturity. The electricians have other useful knowledge and experience, so I believe we will complement each other perfectly.
Do your colleagues from foreign universities have better conditions?
We probably do not differ significantly in the facilities provided. But colleagues from Stuttgart, for example, have consultants from several major car companies and can also take a semester or two off from their studies to work directly and exclusively on the formula car. In doing so, they do not lose their student status and can develop their skills. On the other hand, it makes us all the more pleased whenever we can beat them.
How are you preparing the next generation for the future?
We think about the continuity of the team, about those who will come after us. Our team has enough members who can pass on a lot of experience to the newcomers and they have a lot to build on. Recently, the first round of recruitment took place. Right away, we gave 70 newcomers partial entry tasks to see what they want and will be able to do. The new combined team is already working on a concept for a new generation of electric formula car. We're looking for solutions to the new car through simulations. We're already working on the battery packs in the monocoque. New developments include active air extraction from under the car to increase downforce.
