The University of Malta’s Formula Student team has achieved 11th place overall at an international engineering and motorsport competition held at Silverstone in the UK.
UM Racing competed against 69 university teams during Formula Student UK 2026, with its EV26 also being ranked as the fourth-best electric vehicle at the event.
The Maltese student team finished fourth in the Sprint event and fifth in Acceleration. It also recorded the sixth-fastest lap time during the Endurance competition.
However, a mechanical problem involving the car’s driveshaft brought its endurance run to an early end. This prevented the team from completing the event and cost it valuable points in the final classification.
Despite the setback, the team said finishing 11th overall had given its members greater confidence in the car’s potential.
“To finish 11th overall despite being unable to fully complete the Endurance gives us even greater confidence in what our team and our car are capable of achieving,” UM Racing said.
Among the first electric teams to pass inspections
Before being allowed onto the track, every car must pass a detailed technical and safety inspection known as scrutineering.
UM Racing became the third electric vehicle team at the competition to successfully clear the inspection process.
The achievement followed months of work by a 35-member student team, which designed and fully built the EV26 within a single year. This was the first time UM Racing had completed a car within that timeframe.
Ahead of the competition, team president Matthias Zammit explained that the students had focused on improving and refining the existing design rather than starting again from scratch.
The team reduced the car’s weight by around 15 kilograms while improving its chassis, electronics and wiring.
“Rather than reinventing the car, this year has been about updating and fine-tuning it,” Zammit said.
More than a race for the fastest car
Formula Student competitions test much more than speed.
Teams take part in acceleration, sprint, handling and endurance challenges, while also being assessed on engineering design, costs and business planning.
During the static assessments, students must present and defend their technical choices before judges with experience in the automotive and motorsport industries.
The teams are expected to show, through analysis and simulations, how their design choices improved the car’s performance.
Malta’s growing electric racing programme
The EV26 builds on UM Racing’s first electric Formula Student car, the EV24, which took approximately three years to develop.
The university team moved from petrol-powered cars to electric technology in 2024, when it introduced Malta’s first student-built electric Formula Student car.
The change brought new engineering challenges as students had to learn and develop unfamiliar electrical and battery systems.
UM Racing’s 2020 petrol-powered car could accelerate from zero to 100km/h in 4.6 seconds. Its first electric car reduced that time to 3.9 seconds.
The EV26’s performance at Silverstone showed that the newer electric programme can remain competitive, even after losing points by failing to finish the Endurance event.
A project involving several disciplines
Every part of the EV26 was developed through months of teamwork, testing and problem-solving.
While engineering is at the centre of the project, students are also responsible for sponsorships, fundraising, logistics and project management.
Transporting the car, batteries, equipment and tools to Britain was one of the team’s biggest challenges, particularly due to customs requirements introduced following Brexit.
The volunteer-led project requires around €100,000 in parts. It is supported through sponsorship agreements and assistance from the University of Malta.
Building careers in international motorsport
UM Racing was founded in 2012 and first represented Malta at Formula Student in 2014.
Its best overall result at Silverstone came in 2022, when its petrol-powered car finished in third place. The team later achieved a top-10 result with its electric programme before securing 11th place in 2026.
The project has also helped former members begin careers in international motorsport. UM Racing alumni have gone on to work with Formula One teams including Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull Racing.
“It’s really rewarding to see the skills students gain here translate into those careers,” Zammit said.
The team has now returned from Silverstone with a better understanding of the EV26’s strongest areas and the improvements still required.
UM Racing said development work would continue as the students explore new ideas and innovations aimed at returning with an even stronger car.
Credit: UM Racing, University of Malta
