Welcome back!

It’s shaping up to be a busy month for the University of Toronto Formula Racing team as we balance the demands of final exam season alongside critical stages of car assembly. With our unveiling fast approaching on May 1st, the team is pushing hard to bring together months of design and manufacturing into a fully integrated vehicle.

There’s a strong sense of focus and momentum in the workshop as we work toward this major milestone. With so much happening at once, the dedication across the team has never been clearer. The countdown is on—UTFR is getting ready.

In this edition: 

• Mechanical Milestones

• Ground Speed Sensors Acquired

• Pit Lane Perspectives: with Shop Manager Veronica Abdel Malak

• UT26 Unveiling

Let’s get started.

Mechanical Milestones

This month marks a major step forward for the mechanical team at UTFR. After weeks of intensive manufacturing, we’ve received a significant portion of our corner assembly components. Most notably, our stator assemblies have returned, featuring a custom designed cooling jacket precisely machined into the outer profile. We’d like to extend a sincere thank you to the team at MC78 for their support in producing these critical parts. Alongside this, our uprights and wheel centres, some of the most complex components ever designed by UTFR, have been successfully machined by Procision Manufacturing. These parts play a vital role in enabling wheel rotation and overall vehicle performance. In the coming weeks, we will begin mating the stator assemblies with the uprights, bringing us one step closer to powering our motors.

Chassis & Fabrication Update

In parallel with component manufacturing, the team has achieved a major milestone in completing the fabrication of our tube frame. This marks a crucial step in the vehicle’s structural development. Following fabrication, the chassis was sent for powder coating, where the team at Rice Rocket delivered a clean, glossy black finish. With the coated frame now back in our hands, we are excited to move forward with system integration, assembling key mechanical components onto the chassis and progressing toward a fully built car in the coming weeks.

Ground Speed Sensors Acquired

On the electrical side, we’ve made solid progress with the acquisition of ground speed sensors from Sensoric Solutions. These sensors are essential for accurately measuring wheel speed and providing real-time data to support vehicle control systems. Integrating these sensors will enhance our ability to monitor performance and ensure precise feedback for traction and braking systems as we move closer to testing.

Steering Forward: How Veronica Abdel Malak Upgraded UTFR's Shop Culture

This issue, we sat down with Veronica Abdel Malak, UTFR’s Shop Manager and a 3rd-year mechanical engineering student here at UofT, to talk about her unexpected journey into Formula Student. From joining as a recruit looking for a creative outlet to completely overhauling the shop's culture, her story proves that the best way to find your place on the team is just to jump in.

From Medicine to Motorsport

Veronica didn't originally plan on building race cars. In fact, she was heading in a completely different direction.

“It’s funny because I was actually going to go into medicine. I really thought I was going to be a pediatrician, which is very different to what I’m doing now,” she laughs. “But as a kid, I was a very crafty person. I loved problem-solving and designing things.”

High school flew by during COVID, leaving her with a lingering regret of not joining enough extracurriculars. When she got to university, she made a promise to herself to actually get involved in something hands-on. She wanted mechanical design experience but wasn't sure where to start. That changed on the first day of second year when she bumped into a friend, Eman (UT26 Aerodynamics Lead), who told her all about the racing team.

Embracing the Side Quests

Veronica officially joined UTFR in her second year and started out on the Aerodynamics team. But her curiosity quickly pushed her to branch out.

“I wanted to learn more about the whole car, so I started doing a bunch of random things, even for sections I didn’t originally think I was interested in,” she explains. She began picking up small "side quests" on the mechanical side of Driverless (DV), like 3D printing spacers.

“It actually helps you expand your knowledge because you’re forced to learn about what you’re doing. If you’re making a spacer, you have to know what it’s for and how it interacts with other components.”

Those side projects eventually led her to the Steering team. There, she learned the ropes from senior members and saw firsthand how deeply systems like DV and Steering connect. Today, her expertise heavily revolves around Vehicle Controls (VC), which covers both steering and brakes.

Redefining the Shop

As she spent more time working on the car, Veronica noticed the shop itself needed some attention. Driven to make operations smoother and more efficient, she took on the role of Shop Manager.

“I noticed that a lot of the processes we used in the shop were extremely inefficient, and I felt like something needed to be done,” she says.

When asked how she defines her role, she makes it clear that it goes beyond just organizing tools. She knows upgrading the workspace takes a team effort, but she took the lead on improving the shop environment by bringing in brand new equipment to make the space better for everyone.

Taking Flight in Industry

All that hands-on experience with Vehicle Controls is already opening doors. Starting in May, Veronica will begin her Professional Experience Year (PEY) as a Mechanical Design R&D Intern at Safran Landing Systems, a global leader in aircraft landing gear and braking systems.

Working close to home in Ajax, she will be responsible for researching, designing, and testing new technologies for the aerospace industry.

“I think one of the biggest factors that influenced me getting this PEY was joining steering last year,” she notes. “It made me learn a lot about steering and braking systems on an FSAE car, and it turns out that knowledge is highly applicable to industry and other sectors like aerospace and defense.”

Consistency is Key

Looking back at her time on the team, Veronica has one major piece of advice for new recruits. Just be patient.

“Don’t be discouraged when you’re new and don’t understand what’s happening right off the bat. The car is a very complex thing. You’re not going to understand everything just by showing up to a lecture or two. It takes time, effort, and consistency for things to actually start to click.”

For someone who joined on a whim, UTFR has become a defining part of her university experience.

“I thought this was going to be a side thing where I’d just focus on school,” Veronica reflects. “But it somewhat became the opposite. This team actually changed my life in ways I did not expect it to. If I had to do university all over again, I would join in my first year. I really love this team.”

Learn more about Veronica’s journey on LinkedIn.

UT26 Unveiling

Our official unveiling event will take place on May 1st at Myhal from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. This is the moment where we reveal our car and celebrate the culmination of months of hard work across the entire team. We are incredibly excited to showcase everything we’ve built in preparation for the upcoming competition season, and we look forward to sharing this milestone with our supporters, sponsors, and community. We hope to see everyone there!

Sign up for UT26 Unveiling

Get Involved

Sponsors

UTFR’s success is made possible by our sponsors – they help us with parts, manufacturing support, design advice, and so much more.

Our 2025/26 sponsorship package is now live. To know more about our offerings and upcoming season events, please reply to this email and we will get back to you.

Recruits

Stay connected by checking the team’s Slack and Instagram for updates on section meetings, upcoming lectures, tasks, and ongoing team activities. This is the best place to stay informed as the season continues to ramp up.

Alumni

Know any UTFR Alumni who would like to keep in touch with our team’s journey? Fill out this form and learn more about our alumni offerings in the next edition.

We're always looking to improve and innovate, both on and off the track. Have any thoughts on this newsletter? Ideas for future content? We want to hear from you!

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