About - Viliam Kacerik's Blog

Hi, my name is Viliam and I am a mechanical engineering student at University College London with professional engineering experience from Formula 1, UCL Formula Student Racing and medical projects.

This blog serves as a platform to document and share my learnings and experience from my career, as well as personal development.

Timeline

2012-2013 (Age 13) – Institution Sainte-Marie (5eme), Belfort, France
2013-2014 (Age 14) – Institution Sainte-Marie (4eme), Belfort, France
2014-2015 (Age 15) – Institution Sainte-Marie (3eme), Belfort, France
2015-2016 (Age 16) – Institution Sainte-Marie (Seconde), Belfort, France
2016-2017 (Age 17) – Institution Sainte-Marie (Premiere S), Belfort, France
2017-2018 (Age 18) – Institution Sainte-Marie (Terminale S), Belfort, France
2018-2019 (Age 19) – Classes Preparatoires PCSI, Lycee Kleber, Strasbourg
2019-2020 (Age 20) – UCL Mechanical Engineering, Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering, Year 1
2020-2021 (Age 21) – UCL Mechanical Engineering, Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering, Year 2
2021-2022 (Age 22) – Mechanical engineering placement student at Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains, Brixworth, UK
2022-2023 (Age 23) – UCL Mechanical Engineering, Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering, Year 3 (final year)
2023-2024 (Age 24) – University of Cambrdige, MPhil Master’s student in Industrial Systems, Manufacture and Management

Brief Bibliography:

1999-2012: Early youth

Born on 14/08/1999 in Bratislava, Slovakia. As of young age, I became deeply interested in everything automotive: vehicle design and the underlaying technology. Creating custom models from Lego Technic became a great part life. This enabled me to understand concepts of gearboxes, differentials, suspension systems etc. I attended an art school for 6 years to enhance my drawing skills and took lessons from a automotive designer student. I tried out multiple sports: Golf, Ski, Parkour…

2012-2019: France

Being 12 years old, moving to France was my biggest challenge yet given that I barely spoke any French – this became very evident my first day at middle school (Institution Sainte-Marie in Belfort). After a couple of months and hours of working, I started slowly getting the hang of the language. In addition, I received great support from my now French friends. Finally, I managed to graduate from high school with an average grade of 18.2 out of 20 points, including a 18/20 in Mathematics and 19/20 in Physics – not too bad for someone that was recommended to re-do his grade when he first came to France! This was a significant confidence booster.

2019-Present: UK & University

Having received an offer from UCL, I decided to pursue my university education in the UK with a vision of one day to be working in Formula 1. In my first year of university, I immediately joined the UCL Racing Formula Student Team. Over time, I became more involved with the Mechanical Engineering department by co-founding the UCL Racing Clubs (more on that here) but also by working on medical projects with the UCL Ventura Team. I was already used to the living abroad life as a result of my move to France. For the 2021-2022 academic year, I undertook a year in industry at Mercedes-AMG HPP, therefore turning my F1 dream into reality and getting a foot into the door of the F1 Industry.

Favourite Quotes

Hard work pays off
Matthew Fraser

For want of a nail, the horseshoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the message was lost. For want of a message the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.