“Arigorous process.” So says Dave Robson, the Williams Formula 1 team’s head of vehicle performance, of the process for deciding the Autosport Williams Engineer of the Future Award. This prestigious contest was much revamped for 2023, following its return last year after a pandemic-enforced hiatus.
The winner of that Award, Michael Preston, turned judge this year to help whittle down a field of over 200 initial candidates, which for the first time was open to anyone currently studying an engineering degree at any university or college in the UK.
The Williams team itself went over the application field to get that down to 60 contenders, before sending 20 to an assessment day involving Williams’s Esports team, where Preston is now the chief engineer, as well as working in the Formula Regional
