A student from the University of Exeter has won the career opportunity of a lifetime with World Championship-winning Formula One team, Infiniti Red Bull Racing.
Mechanical Engineering student William Priest triumphed over 1,500 other entrants across 100 top engineering universities worldwide to secure a lucrative 12-month work placement with the elite Infiniti Performance Engineering Academy.
William, 23, underwent a gruelling three-day final event this week which saw 12 hopefuls from around the world competing for victory in a series of challenges relating to road car and racing car engineering – including practical design tasks, written exams, intense interviews and complex group exercises to test their technical ability, teamwork skills and performance under pressure.
In one task they even got a first-hand insight into the role of a race engineer by working alongside four-time World Champion and Infinti's Director of Performance, Sebastian Vettel, in the team's simulator.
Fourth-year student William, who will graduate next week with a First, is no stranger to the world of motorsport, having raced in karts and worked in British touring cars before coming to Exeter.
He also completed a year in industry as part of his degree with global giant Caterpillar.
William said: "I am absolutely ecstatic to have won. It's been a really hectic and interesting process, culminating in a final group interview in front of the Infiniti Red Bull Racing judging panel.
"A lot of the skills I gained during my degree helped me because as well as the technical side, we learn about putting together presentations, collaborating with peers and selecting the most important information.
"Formula One is perhaps the most prestigious area of the motorsport world, and as an engineer I can't think of anywhere more exciting, more challenging and more thrilling to work. I can't wait to get started in September."
William was the only British competitor in the final and was one of three to win, alongside US students Eric LaRoche and Jason Zide.
