Launched five years ago, this initiative has proved to be a valuable platform for young graduates who aspire towards working at the highest level of motorsport. The opportunity to enter the world of Formula 1 represents a unique opportunity for all the candidates.

The team will open its doors to the winning candidate, who will be given the opportunity to join the ING Renault F1 Team’s Research and Development department for a six-month placement. The winner will be provided with accommodation in nearby Oxford, the use of a car, and will be supported by an Altran expert who will help the winner get the most out of the experience. The candidates who hope to win this unique opportunity will need to prepare a presentation showing technological innovation in one of the following areas: aerodynamics, power, performance engineering, vehicle dynamics, control systems, electronics, materials transducers and fuel technology.

The winners in previous years, such as Josef Dubsky in 2007, have shown that the chance to spend six months with the team has played a major role in determining their career paths. Many of the participants in this competition are today employed by the team, while the others participants will be considered for future roles.

Robin Tuluie, Head of Research and Development for the ING Renault F1 Team explains: “The competition attracts a large number of young people who have a passion for our industry and who are not intimidated by the complexity of our environment. Their involvement over the last four years has been valuable in terms of the technical contribution, and a rewarding experience.”

Anne-Laure Sanguinetti, Head of the partnership for Altran, confides: “Participating in this competition, which attracts hundreds of young applicants from the best universities and schools worldwide, gives them a chance to share a thirst for challenge with Altran and ING Renault F1 Team. Every year, we are faced with a tough choice and impressed by their ability to defend their ideas in front of the jury.”

The last four years of the Altran Engineering Academy have been a great success, with thousands of people visiting the official site of the competition. Hundreds of applications were received from over twenty different countries.

Candidates for this year can complete their applications on the official site for the 2008 competition: http://www.altran-academy.com. The deadline for applications is 15th May.

Discover the 2008 video on our website www.ing-renaultf1.com or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xF_g1lnKPg


Altran - ING Renault F1 Team technological partnership
How do we respond to changes in engine regulations; how do we improve the chassis’ aerodynamic performance? High-level expertise is required in so many different fields. Altran has been supporting the Renault F1 Team since 2002, providing talented engineers in a variety of specialities, including computation, information technology, electronics, logistics and quality control. They contribute their skills to chassis in Enstone, UK, and to engines in Viry-Châtillon, near Paris. The Altran experts are driven not only by the human and sporting adventure, but by the technological challenge as well. Earlier this year, the partnership was extended to the end of 2010.

About Altran
Altran is the European leader in innovation consulting and high technology. The Group’s 17,500 consultants, operating worldwide, cover the entire range of engineering specialities, including electronics, information technology, quality and organisation. Altran offers its clients ongoing support throughout the innovation cycle, from technology watch, applied basic research and management consulting to industrial systems engineering and information systems. The Group provides services to most industries, including the automotive, aeronautics, space and telecommunications sectors. Founded in 1982, Altran operates in 20 priority countries. In 2007, it generated a turnover of €1,591.4 million.

Interview with Patrick Head
The team seems to have faired well in winter testing. What are your expectations for the season ahead?
We want to continue our progress back, from a very low point of 2006, to being a leading team, always in a position to challenge for race wins and the Championship.

The media are speculating that Williams could be the leading team behind Ferrari and McLaren this year, is this realistic?
It is too early to say where we will be in the pecking order. It looks as if Ferrari and McLaren have made strong progress from 2007, BMW have a car that seems quick and Renault have made progress, I am sure some of which is coming from the cockpit with Alonso back at the helm. Red Bull are beginning to look stronger and Toro Rosso are making the best of a car that they are familiar with, they certainly cannot be dismissed. We have certainly made progress, but we will not see where we stand until after the season starts.

What improvements have been brought to the FW30 over the FW29 and how is it technically different to its predecessor?
The FW30 is a progression along the theme of the FW29, although the cooling installations are quite different. Obviously it has benefited from nearly nine months’ of aero development from the original FW29, although some of the changes have been applied during the FW29’s development through 2007.

The team finished last year’s Championship in fourth place, a major step up from 2006. Could a fight for the Championship be on the cards in two or three seasons’ time?
We never design a new car to be fourth! Obviously we are always designing for the highest possible position, so the result depends upon our relative capability at the time. Although Nico will be starting his third season in F1, Kazuki will be starting his first, so the driver line up will not be as experienced as might be expected for a team competing for a Championship. However, we intend to be regular podium visitors in 2008. The reliability of current Formula One cars means that this can only be achieved with a car that is close to front running performance.

Nico enters his third season as a race driver for the team and Kazuki is making his debut. Are they working well together?
Yes, they are. Kazuki is steadily increasing his speed, particularly with qualifying simulation of a single lap on new tyres. We expect Nico to be our lead driver, but Kazuki will give a good account of himself.

2008 is a celebratory year for Williams in which 500 GPs and 50,000 racing laps will be reached. Did you foresee such longevity when you started the team?
I don’t think either Frank or I thought about it. Formula One teams in those days tended to come and go. In our first five years or so it was a financial struggle to survive, but luckily we started winning races and then Championships quite early, so this made the financial side stronger.

What has been the biggest change in Formula One you’ve witnessed during your tenure?
The scale of the activity has changed enormously with the level of coverage. Now some teams have well above 100 personnel that they take to each race, many of whom have no operational connection to the running of the cars, but are from marketing or the logistics-support side.

Your relationship with Frank has endured for over 30 years. What is the key to its success?
Fundamentally, Frank and I have a similar view about the joys of motor racing and we both look after different parts of the challenge; myself on the technical side and Frank on marketing and finance, as well as relationships with our senior partners, so we do not trip over each other too much.

Did you envisage you would achieve 16 World Championships when you set up Williams F1?
No, not at all, but we both wanted to achieve as much as possible.

If you could pinpoint one overriding element to the team’s success, what would it be?
Consistent guidance from the top, an understanding that F1 is essentially a technical and organisational problem as well as an appreciation of how much we rely upon the skills and enthusiasm of our employees.

Out of 500 races, which has been your most satisfying?
Winning races is satisfying, but it is what we set out to do, so not winning is failing in that task. Once the race is over, both Frank and I tend to be thinking about the future.

And lastly, what are your predictions for the 2008 season as a whole?
That the races will be contested mostly between Ferrari and McLaren, as in 2007, that at least one race will be won by a third team and that Williams will make progress from 2007.

Interview with Frank Williams
The team will mark several landmarks this season. Did you foresee such success when you first started your career?
It never crossed my mind so no, not at all. Back then, my mind concentrated on yesterday’s and today’s problems.

This year also sees you become the longest serving constructor in Formula One and celebrate 600 GP entries. What has motivated you over the past 38 years and what keeps motivating you?
It’s very easy to be hooked by Formula One. Once you’re in, you can’t get out. It’s almost an addiction, but an enjoyable one.

You had no connections to motorsport as a child. What propelled you into the sport do you think?
When I was very young, motor cars were few and far between but I always loved them. I was just thrilled by their speed and their specification, I was hooked from the first time I came across one.

Formula One has changed considerably during your tenure, what has been the most significant change, in your opinion?
Undoubtedly safety. The advances we’ve seen over the years are very much down to Max Mosley and the FIA.

Your relationship with Patrick Head is the most enduring partnership in the paddock. What do you think has been the key to its longevity?
A common sense of purpose. We also have an understanding of what each other is good at so we very rarely tread on each others’ toes.

Williams has an impressive employee retention record with a number of employees having worked for you from the start. What do you think encourages people to work at WF1 for so long?
It helps to have been around a while, obviously! We tend to attract people who enjoy what they do and people who really want to win races. Our atmosphere is certainly disciplined, but has a light touch which I think helps.

The team stands as one of just two independent teams in the pitlane. What pressures does that bring and do you see Williams staying as a force in the paddock for another ten years?
Making ends meet is the single largest problem that I face with Adam our CEO but we have a very able marketing department who always work their socks off all year round. Better results always help, but when we have had a good year we reap the rewards for the following few years. We haven’t been what I would call a force for a good few years, but I hope that we will be an honest and able competitor whilst enjoying what we do as well as being a team that helps to give the fans good value for money.

The team hasn’t won a Championship for ten seasons now but is it fair to say it seems to be turning a corner?
Ten years is a miserably long time, Patrick and I wince every time we think about it. But life’s tough, it’s never meant to be easy, you just have to get on with it and work hard to get back to the top. Whether we’ve turned a corner, we will only be able to tell once the season gets underway.

The press are speculating that Williams could be the leading team behind Ferrari and McLaren this year. Are you cautiously optimistic of improving on last year’s performance?
Personally, not in the slightest, I don’t subscribe to what the press has said. Our competitors around us, of which there are many, are just as competitive. Formula One is never easy; it’s not supposed to be easy, so to think that we’re going to sail in to third place in the first few races is pie in the sky. If we do, it’ll be a tight fit.

Nico returns for his third season this year. How important is he to the team?
He’s fundamental. We have the highest regards for him and we have great confidence that, given the right equipment, he will win races.

Kazuki has been promoted from test to race driver, how has he been doing over winter testing and what are your expectations of him in a race seat?
We knew we were taking a bit of a gamble when we signed him, but we’ve been pleasantly surprised by his testing pace. It’s really only a question I’ll be able to answer properly after the first few races of the season.

There’s a new face in team this year in the form of Nico Hulkenberg. What prompted you to take him on as a test driver?
We like his background. The fact he’s a Willi Weber driver gives us confidence in our choice. He hasn’t done much running to date, but he does not appear to be a waste of time.

And lastly, what are your predictions for the season ahead?
I think the first four places are most likely to be occupied by the same people as last year, sadly. But I do think it will be a brilliant racing season.