Formula Student is an educational motorsport competition. Backed by industry and high-profile engineers, the competition aims to develop enterprising and innovative young engineers and encourage more young people to take up a career in engineering. It has been running in the UK since 1998 (the original US competition, Formula SAE began in 1981)

The format of the event is such that it provides an ideal opportunity for the students to test, demonstrate and improve their capabilities to deliver a complex and integrated product in the demanding environment of a motorsport competition.

Each team is tasked to produce a prototype for a single-seat race car for autocross or sprint racing, and present it to a hypothetical manufacturing firm. The car must be low in cost, easy to maintain, and reliable, with high performance in terms of its acceleration, braking, and handling qualities. During the competition the team smust demonstrate the logic behind their proposal and must be able to demonstrate that it can support a viable business model for both parties.

Imperial College London first entered a car in Formula Student in 2001, winning the Class 2 Design Prize.