UTFR’s Women in Motorsports Panel

When the University of Toronto Formula Racing team hosted the second Women in Motorsport Panel, we embraced a powerful opportunity: how do we showcase the diverse perspectives that drive innovation in our industry? Rather than focusing solely on technical achievements, we created a platform for authentic voices that illuminate the human elements behind motorsport excellence.

Our panel brought together remarkable individuals who exemplify the spirit of the motorsport racing community. We started with authenticity – acknowledging that meaningful discussion requires honest sharing of both challenges and triumphs. Each speaker contributed unique insights that identified pathways and set new possibilities for attendees. This created our foundation for inspiration.

Connection flourished next, particularly valuable given our position at the intersection of academia and industry. The dialogue revealed persistent barriers alongside promising developments. We've learned that progress comes through collective effort, and creating space for these conversations is essential.

Impact emerged clearly as stories resonated with audience members. Bringing together Erika Hoffman, Alana Carter, Elise Racette, and Tamara Maracle alongside passionate attendees creates momentum. We've found that advancing diversity in motorsport – whether through organized events or daily actions – defines our ability to evolve as an industry.

UTFR’s Newest Challenger – UT25 is set to be unveiled on March 31, 2025

Join us for the University of Toronto Formula Racing UT25 Unveiling! A year of innovation and teamwork has culminated in our latest Formula-style race car, now with autonomous capabilities.

​Get an inside look at the cutting-edge engineering behind UT25 as our team showcases the breakthrough features that make this vehicle race-ready.

​Whether you’re a motorsport enthusiast or curious about automotive innovation, come celebrate this milestone with UTFR!

Register here

Section Updates:

Mechanical:

Electric:

Driverless:

Deep Dives #4 – From Vision to Reality: Youssef Elhadad's Journey with UTFR's Driverless Revolution

This month, I sat down with UTFR's Driverless Technical Director, Youssef Elhadad, to explore the remarkable journey of bringing autonomous capabilities to the team's electric race car. From its controversial inception to becoming a competitive edge, the DV team's story is one of perseverance, innovation, and pushing boundaries.

Youssef Elhadad

This is something that doing it now, what we have done, will put us so far ahead of other teams who are just now figuring out that DV is going to be a part of these competitions."

On why UTFR chose to pursue driverless

The Unlikely Beginning

Yousef’s journey with UTFR began in his second year, after a fully online first year kept him disconnected from extracurricular activities. "A friend was telling me, 'There's this team UTFR, and they design race cars, and they race EVs.' I was like, 'Oh my God, this is so dope!'" he recalls with enthusiasm.

Initially overwhelmed by the complexity of the electric vehicle project, Youssef found his footing in the electrical team, working on vehicle harnesses. "On the harness team, I was able to learn a lot about the general functionality of the car because you learn about all these different interfacing parts."

But the true turning point came in the summer of 2022, when then-firmware lead Kelvin approached him with an audacious idea. "Kelvin was in the shop and said, 'Hey, I'm starting this thing called DV. I want to make this car driverless.'" At a time when the team was still struggling to perfect their first electric vehicle, the idea of adding autonomous systems seemed almost absurd.

Building from Nothing

The newly formed DV section started with just five or six passionate students—a stark contrast to the mechanical section's 40-plus members. "In the beginning, it was very, very small. Just Kelvin, me, Asadi, Alyssa, and a couple others," Youssef explains.

With no hardware, no software, and not even a running car, the initial plan was modest: create a proof of concept through simulation for the 2023 season. "We were looking at different European teams, different research papers... the whole first year of DV was getting it to work in simulation."

But the stakes suddenly rose when team leadership set their sights on European competition. "There was this huge pressure where it was like, we're going to Europe and we've never tested this on a physical car," Elhadad recounts. What began as a research project was now expected to become a functional system.

The Art of Positive Failure and Persistence

What kept the DV team going through these setbacks? Youssef credits the unique culture at UTFR. "There's this culture in the team where you try your best, things don't work out, and then you fail really hard. But everybody wants to see this work. That motivation pushes everybody to just get back and try again until you figure out something that works."

This resilience proved crucial during the development of UT24. The team methodically built bench tests for every component before attempting integration on the vehicle. "Every little thing you see that was on the car this year was validated on that bench test," Elhadad points out with pride.

Even with careful preparation, the testing phase revealed unexpected challenges. "We realized we had huge issues with integrating the software on the car that we didn't know about before. The car would not run or just run for like two inches." The team spent the entire fall troubleshooting and iterating until a breakthrough came in November 2024—the first successful end-to-end autonomous run.

From Working to Winning

With a functioning system now proven, the DV team's focus has shifted dramatically. "It's not about getting it to work anymore. It's about getting it to be as good as we can possibly get. Make it seamless, make it perfect," he emphasizes.

This evolution mirrors the wider team's transition from simply building a working electric vehicle to optimizing for performance. For DV, this means exploring more sophisticated approaches—improving position tracking accuracy, enhancing cone detection, reducing latency, and increasing processing frequency.

Perhaps most significantly, the team is bringing more development in-house. "Before, we imported simulation systems from different teams. Now we're making our own simulation software with full 3D integration and a dynamic model of the car." This customization allows them to solve specifically for UTFR's unique needs rather than adapting standardized solutions.

Breaking Through Barriers

This journey hasn't been without friction. Youssef recalls an early meeting where the DV concept faced significant pushback: "The first meeting was just like a roast session. People were saying 'This is stupid.'"

But with Michigan now adding driverless events as a permanent competition feature, the team's foresight is paying dividends. "This is something that doing it now, what we have done, will put us so far ahead of other teams who are just now figuring out that DV is going to be a part of these competitions."

The key to integration, according to Elhadad, has been establishing shared priorities. "At the end of the day, it's not us versus them or DV versus them. It's one team. Everybody wants this car to do really well in competitions."

A Different Development Paradigm

The DV section operates differently from its mechanical and electrical counterparts. While those disciplines follow well-established timelines and manufacturing processes, software development follows a more iterative approach.

"With DV, it's very much try this, didn't work, try again... It's constant iteration. Software is so easy to redesign, re-evaluate, change requirements," Elhadad explains. This flexibility allows bolder experimentation but requires different project management approaches and expectations.

Shaping Future Engineers

For Youssef personally, the experience has transformed his career path. "When I first started engineering, I wanted to be in mech and do mechanical. But being on this team completely changed everything." Now firmly directed toward software engineering, he credits the countless problems solved and hours invested in the shop for shaping his professional ambitions.

His advice to newcomers? "Seeing something not work teaches you so much more than seeing everything working perfectly. You learn a lot more by failing." He emphasizes the importance of vigilance, attention to detail, and proactive communication—especially across interdisciplinary boundaries.

For those intimidated by the technical complexity, Elhadad offers encouragement: "Recruits are afraid to sound dumb or afraid to go out of their way and sign up to a project. But you just have to stick to it and push yourself."