Lewis Fowler: Graduate Design Engineer – Aerodynamics at Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 team
KEY FACTS
Lewis at work at Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team
Current role: Graduate Design Engineer – Aerodynamics
Company: Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team
Country: UK
Years competing: 2016 - 2019
School: Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School
a love of engineering
“My secondary school had competed in STEM Racing for many years, and this was one of my reasons for joining the school, having always had a large passion for Formula 1, design, and engineering. When I started, I expressed my interest to join the school’s current team and went to the Regional Finals in 2016 at Stamford Bridge as a guest to learn about the competition.
Seeing the competition in action was brilliant, and I was keener than ever to get involved - the racing was very exciting and I enjoyed looking through all the portfolios, learning about the processes that went into designing the race cars. From a young age I knew I wanted to work in Formula 1 and the competition gave me the chance to begin working on the next closest thing whilst still being in school.”
Becoming world champions
“I began my journey with a in 2016 as a team of four. We competed in the 2017 South East Regional Final, and achieved first place. From here, we worked hard to improve every aspect of the team and competed in that year’s National Finals. Although we did not win any awards, we gained a huge amount of experience that we would take into the following years. We also represented the competition at the F1 Live event in London. Rebranding as Evolve UK, we once again competed in the South East Regional Final in 2018, coming second, and securing a place at the National Finals, where we won the Judges Recommendation Award.
For 2019, we were determined to reach the World Finals. Now as a team of three, we won South East Regional Final, and placed second in the National Finals, meaning we would move to the global stage of the competition. That year’s World Finals were hosted in Abu Dhabi, and we worked extremely hard for the event - gaining new sponsors, producing a new car, and improving every element of branding and portfolios. It paid off, and we were delighted to come away as World Champions, as well as picking up the Pit Display and Enterprise Awards, alongside being crowned Knockout Champions.”
World Champions 2019
Evolve’s National Finals 2019 car
A DREAM REALISED
“In 2020 I joined the Unilever Williams Engineering Academy and enrolled to Oxford Brookes University to study Motorsport Engineering in 2020. After two years of studying, I joined Aston Martin Aramco F1 team as Student Placement Design Engineer – Aerodynamics in 2022 and had an amazing year working with the team on the development of the wind tunnel model and aerodynamic testing. The competition allowed me to develop my skills as an engineer from a very young age, which undoubtably helped to achieve my goal of joining Aston Martin Aramco F1 team. I am now finishing my degree and am delighted to be re-joining the team as Graduate Design Engineer – Aerodynamics in July 2024.”
Lewis hosting a Make a Mark event with STEM Racing and Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team
“STEM Racing taught me a great deal. I learnt to understand engineering principles and how to work in a team, how to follow tight rule sets and collaborate with large companies. I furthered my skills in CAD, CAM, and portfolio and document creation, as well as well as developing my confidence through delivering verbal presentations. It really is an educational project with so many diverse and valuable facets.
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