Frederick University has announced the participation of its Frederick University Formula Racing Team, known as FUF Racing Team, in the International Formula Student Alpe Adria competition, held in Croatia from 18 to 23 August 2026. The team, made up of Frederick University students, is taking part in a demanding international contest in which it has already recorded notable results in similar events.
In 2025, the team placed second at the International Student Mechanical Engineering and Innovation Competition in Greece, and in 2024 it placed third at the Formula SAE Student competition in Italy, the same year it received the Unicars Motorsport Award from the Cyprus Sports Journalists' Association. With that experience and technical know-how behind it, the team is now in Croatia aiming for another strong showing.
FUF Racing Team has built international recognition in applied engineering and motorsport. Under the guidance of Professor Antonis Londos, a member of the academic staff in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the team's students take part in every stage of developing the single-seater vehicle, from design and research through to construction, testing and optimisation.
"We are especially proud of the FUF Racing Team, its journey and the significant achievements it has secured at an international level," said Natasa Frederikou, chair of the Frederick University Council. "The team is another expression of the university's long tradition and strong presence in the field of engineering, and an excellent example of how knowledge is turned into practice. With engineering and technology at its core, the FUF Racing Team brings together students from different fields, working towards a shared goal in a complex and demanding project. We wish the team every success in this year's event in Croatia, and we are confident it will represent Frederick University and Cyprus with distinction."
First Cypriot team to build a Formula-style car
FUF Racing Team is the first Cypriot university team to design and build a single-seater Formula-style racing car and compete in an international contest, contributing to Cyprus' profile in university engineering and student motorsport. Taking part in the team is one of Frederick University's co-curricular activities, giving students the chance to turn theoretical knowledge into practical experience through a demanding, interdisciplinary project.
While Formula Student is at its core an engineering and technology project, its requirements extend well beyond designing and building a racing car. Teams are effectively required to function as a full development team for a real product, designing and constructing the vehicle, managing the project and its resources, developing a business and production plan, and presenting and documenting their choices.
That multidisciplinary character is reflected in the composition of FUF Racing Team itself. Most of its members come from engineering programmes, but the team also includes students from the departments of Architecture, Business Administration, and Arts and Communication, each contributing from their own field toward a shared goal.
Through the team, students apply knowledge of mechanical engineering, design, electronics, materials, aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics, while also developing skills in project management, business planning, communication and presentation, creative problem-solving, collaboration and innovation, skills they are expected to draw on later in their professional lives.
Building a racing car is a complex and demanding process. Team members research, design, build, test and refine the vehicle from scratch, manufacturing much of it themselves using the equipment and specialised laboratories of Frederick University's Polytechnic School. International Formula Student competitions judge teams not only on the car's speed and track performance, but also on engineering design and technical choices, construction and reliability, and on their business and production plan, costing, presentation and ability to justify their decisions.
FUF Racing Team's participation in Croatia builds on a longstanding tradition at Frederick University in engineering and racing vehicle construction, dating back to 1969, when students from the then Nicosia Technical and Economic School, the institution that evolved into Frederick University, built the first racing car. Today, FUF Racing Team continues that tradition, combining academic knowledge with practical application and giving students the chance to test their skills in a demanding international environment.
