- INFINITI names Chase Pelletier a student from University Ontario Institute Technology (UOIT), Oshawa as the 2018 Canadian winner of its acclaimed INFINITI Engineering Academy, following an intense trackside final at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve ahead of this weekend's Grand Prix™
- Chase will begin his 12-month placement with INFINITI and Renault Sport Formula One™ Team in January 2019
- Chase is one of the only seven winners chosen by an esteemed panel of judges from INFINITI, Renault Sport Formula One™ Team and Harvard University
Montreal, Quebec. — Engineering student Chase Pelletier earned his title as the Canadian final winner of the 2018 INFINITI Engineering Academy, securing a highly-coveted and exclusive opportunity to work in automotive and Formula One™ with INFINITI and Renault Sport Formula One™ Team.
The 22-year-old UOIT student from Brampton, Ontario was selected from thousands of applications.
The INFINITI Engineering Academy is INFINITI's global search for bright engineering talent to work across automotive and Formula One™. It is the only recruitment program of its kind in the world, bringing an array of young, diverse and fresh thinking engineering talent who will gain first-hand knowledge and experience working alongside seasoned automotive and racetrack engineers in the exciting world of Formula One™.
After an action-packed event held trackside at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal ahead of the 2018 Canadian Formula One™ Grand Prix this weekend, a panel including judges from INFINITI, Renault Sport Formula One™ Team and decision science experts from Harvard University declared Chase Pelletier the winner.
Competing against nine other finalists from all over Canada, Pelletier demonstrated to be a worthy winner as he tackled the numerous tests involved in the final event, including an engineering exam, one-on-one interviews with the judges, a dragster car build, challenges especially designed for the occasion by a team from Harvard University and by Renault Sport Formula One™ Team and facing the media in a tough Q&A session where journalists from different industries evaluated his communication skills.
Pelletier will relocate to the U.K. in January 2019 and will be provided with a competitive salary, an INFINITI company car, travel and accommodations for one year. The automotive engineering student at UOIT will spend six-months working at the Renault Formula One™ Team's Technical Center in Enstone, U.K. and six-months at INFINITI's European Technical Center in Cranfield, U.K. He will play a key role in the ongoing transfer of technical knowledge and expertise between Renault Sport Formula One™ Team and INFINITI.
Tommaso Volpe, director, INFINITI Global Motorsport and Performance Projects, said, "The INFINITI Engineering Academy has grown every year, and now in our fifth year, competition for our limited number of slots is intense. Our partners at Renault Sport Formula One™ Team and Harvard University have helped us select the brightest engineering students from around the globe who will contribute to the future of the sport and the automotive industry."
Cyril Abiteboul, managing director, Renault Sport Racing, also commented, "Attracting top new talent is crucial for success in Formula One™, so we want to make sure that together, with INFINITI, we select the best engineers to work for this program. Each one of these young engineers brings fresh perspectives and new ideas to the race team, which are vital."
Commenting on his win, Pelletier said, "It feels incredible to be selected as the Canadian winner. It was very competitive again this year – the other contestants were very strong, so it is very rewarding for me to win this competition. I am looking forward to working for Renault Sport and INFINITI starting in January."
For the 2018 edition of the Academy, INFINITI partnered with Harvard University Professor Dr. Julia Minson, who specializes in decision science. Dr. Minson is working with the INFINITI Engineering Academy to conduct ground-breaking research into decision making in engineering, and how the very best engineers perform under pressure to make decisions when faced with vast amounts of complex data. The learnings from the research will then be incorporated by both the INFINITI engineering and motorsport teams to optimize their decision-making processes.
For more information on the INFINITI Engineering Academy, please visit academy.infiniti.com.
