Infiniti gives young American engineer a chance with Renault F1 team

Evan Sloan, an engineering student from Uxbridge, Mass., has been named the American winner for this year's Infiniti Engineering Academy.

Having been selected from thousands of entries and beating nine other finalists from around the country in an event at Microsoft headquarters today, 21-year-old Sloan (pictured) will move to the UK in October for a career opportunity of a lifetime, complete with travel, accommodation, access to an Infiniti company car, a salary and the possibility to work alongside world-leading engineers at the cutting edge of the automotive and motorsport industries.

Sloan, who is a mechanical engineering student at the California Institute of Technology, will spend six months working at Renault F1 Team's Technical Center in the UK (Enstone) and six months working at Infiniti's European Technical Center (Cranfield). He will play a key role in the ongoing transfer of technical knowledge and expertise between Renault Sport Formula 1 Team and Infiniti.

"With every edition of the Academy, we are more and more impressed by the amount of interest received from students all over the world and the incredible level of the talent attracted," said Tommaso Volpe, Global Director, Infiniti Motorsport. "Students have seen the accomplishments of our former Academy graduates, who have forged successful careers in both automotive and motorsport and, as a result, more students than ever before want to participate to get this once-in-a-lifetime engineering experience to launch their careers.

"With Formula 1 becoming more relevant to the automotive industry and with an increased focus of the placements this year being on the road car development, we are training a new generation of engineers who will play a key role in the crossover between the two industries," added Volpe.

Randy Parker, Vice President, Infiniti Americas, said: "Infiniti prides itself on recognizing world-class talent, even at the very beginning of a career. We are honored to present this opportunity to Evan, who has demonstrated what it means to be a part of this innovative team."

Commenting on his win, Sloan said, "It's an incredible opportunity and I'm really looking forward to contributing to the Infiniti Motor Company and the Renault Formula 1 team. I can't wait to be a part of it."

The Infiniti Engineering Academy, now in its fourth year, is a one-of-a-kind global search for the world's best up-and-coming engineers. For 2017, seven placements are available with one winner chosen each from Asia-Pacific, Canada, China, Europe (incl. Russia), Mexico, United Arab Emirates and U.S., to work with Infiniti and Renault Sport F1. The 2017 edition of the Academy attracted over 12,000 registrations from 41 different countries, setting a new record with a near-threefold increase on last year.