History of FSG
Combustion Class
In 1981, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in the USA began the "Formula SAE®" competition for combustion vehicles. In 1998, the ImechE brought this competition to Europe as Formula Student. Competitions in Australia (2000), Japan (2003), Thailand (2004), Brazil (2005) and Italy (2005) followed.
In Germany, Stralsund University of Applied Sciences founded the first team in 1999, followed by Braunschweig Technical University and RWTH Aachen. The first alumni from Germany began planning a Formula Student Germany competition together with the VDI in 2004. A pre-event took place at the Porsche venue in Leipzig in 2005 and the first full-scale FSG competition was held in Hockenheim in 2006 with 40 teams.
Electric Class
The idea of electric racing first appeared in the US in the Formula Hybrid competition, with Florida Institute of Technology going on to build the first electric car for the 2007 competition as Hybrid in Progress. In 2008, the additional class 1A took place in the UK for the first time, in which all possible alternative drive systems were accepted. In 2009, the University of Hertfordshire built the first electric vehicle in Europe.
In 2008, FSG began writing a dedicated rulebook for electric vehicles entirely from scratch. A year later, FSG announced the first FSE competition class dedicated purely to battery-electric vehicles, matching the combustion category in every aspect except the powertrain. No hybrids, no mixed concepts — just full battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The class started in 2010, and since then, this has become the standard format for Formula Student competitions around the world: World Ranking List. It gives teams practical experience in areas like battery systems, energy efficiency, and regenerative braking — skills that are directly relevant in today's automotive industry.
Driverless Class
The Driverless Class was introduced in 2016 as a pioneering addition to the competition, featuring autonomous racing vehicles capable of operating without a driver while also supporting manual modes. This engineering challenge sees university teams design, build and programme self-driving race cars to compete in events such as track drives, with a focus on developments in AI, sensors and vehicle automation. Since its debut in 2017, the class has evolved significantly. By 2022, it had merged with the electric category, and in 2021, it introduced the Driverless Cup to allow for optional autonomous disciplines.