Tommaso Volpe, Global Director, INFINITI Formula One
Q1: Why is INFINITI running the INFINITI Performance Engineering Academy again in 2015?
Volpe: Perhaps the biggest benefit that our involvement in Formula One brings us is the ability to drive performance across all areas of our people, process and technologies. We achieve that via the knowledge and expertise exchange between INFINITI and INFINITI Red Bull Racing – sharing information and best practice. Putting the right people in place is critical to that happening, and just as the winners from last year have done, the five young candidates we find in 2015 will play a key role in bridging the gap between us and the race team.
Q2: What role will the winners play for INFINITI?
Volpe: As well as being great ambassadors for the F1 program, the winners will spend significant time at our design facilities in the UK working on engineering projects and product development. One key area will be on the development of our hybrid technology from which the learning they gain from Formula One will be hugely relevant.
Q3: What are the main differences to last year's program?
Volpe: The biggest change is that we're spreading the net even further and offering a total of five placements compared to three last year. Of these five, one will be from each of the participating regions Europe, Russia, Saudi Arabia, China and the United States, meaning all of the applicants in those markets a real opportunity to win. The winners will also be spending more of their placement working on the road car side of things than last year's winners, giving them a 360 view of automotive engineering and a strong understanding of the very different challenges presented by race car and road car development.
Q4: What tips would you give to applicants for 2015?
Volpe: Aside from academic achievement, we're looking for applicants who stand out through their personality and their potential to be game changers. The INFINITI Performance Engineering Academy isn't for those who want to clock in and clock out. It's for those who want to challenge the norm, ask questions and to leave a mark on the automotive and engineering worlds. We want to unlock the full potential of world-class graduates, and in return we'll give them an experience and a career opportunity then will never forget.
Q&A with Adrian Newey, Chief Technical Officer, INFINITI Red Bull Racing
Q1: What qualities will you look for in 2015's INFINITI Performance Engineering Academy applicants?
Newey: Passion for design engineering. A strong baseline knowledge. A willingness to learn and the ability to work in a team. We don't expect them as undergraduates to know it all, but we do need them to have the ability, creativity and strength of character to be given a technical problem and understand the steps that it takes to find the solution whilst seamlessly fitting into our environment.
Q2: How did last year's INFINITI Performance Engineering Academy graduates fare?
Newey: The selection process is designed to find exceptional talents, so you expect them to be good. What I didn't expect was how quickly they would settle in and how readily they learned. In each area they've specialized in, they've grown and developed significantly to the point that any F1 team would be fortunate to have them. To come in and within months actually be building parts for next year's car is the benchmark they've set. This is a real credit to them and to INFINITI's program.
Q3: Formula One is about performance. How does their newly found experience in that field transfer back to INFINITI road cars?
Newey: The technology used in Formula One is more closely aligned to road cars than it ever has been, with smaller displacement engines, hybrid technology and other key features. This means that a huge amount of what's learned in racing can be applied to road cars and vice versa, and we've seen the 2014 winners already applying that knowledge when working with INFINITI on their product development.
Q4: Would you have applied to the INFINITI Performance Engineering Academy as an undergraduate?
Newey: Absolutely without a doubt. There was nothing like this when I was starting out but to have the chance to fast track straight into a career in F1 is something I would have jumped on. I suppose the bigger question is would I have made the final five?!
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