Interview with automotive engineer Nicolas Drouelle

As part of its partnership with the driver Aurélien Panis, AMEG group is taking you on a journey into motor sport. The sportsman's participation in the Andros Trophy, the famous electric car competition on ice, is an opportunity to immerse himself in automotive technology and to meet the professionals. Nicolas Drouelle, Aurélien's engineer on the Andros, agreed to answer our questions.

What does an automotive engineer do?

As a car engineer, I have to deliver to Aurélien a car that is easy to drive and will perform as well as possible. I have to adapt the settings of the car to the track conditions which, at the Andros Trophy, are constantly changing. The real difficulty of being a car engineer is to find the perfect setting for the perfect car, the one that wins all the races. But it's all about compromise, you have to keep adapting.

How do you determine these settings?

Three elements help me to make decisions: Aurélien's feeling, the appearance and observation thanks to a seasoned eye, and the car's sensors. Nowadays, drivers can no longer lie! The data will validate our exchanges with the driver. All the information is analysed and compared from one qualifying round to the next. It is also compared with other professional teams. The Sainteloc team has a total of three Audis competing in the Andros Trophy. This makes it possible to compare the cars with each other.

What is your professional background?

I trained as an automotive engineer and have been working in this field for 15 years. I specialise in the chassis and the vehicle's ground connection. As a freelancer, I am not affiliated with any brand and I work with different teams throughout the year. My first collaboration with Aurélien dates back to 2018 and since then, a trust has been established between us. I have been participating in the Andros Trophy for many years.

What is the difference between automotive engineering in the Andros Trophy and another championship?

I would almost say that it is the opposite. I'm exaggerating a bit, but I like to say that after the summer season I switch my brain. Because Andros is on ice, the conditions are different and the settings are different. In the summer you are looking for the best possible straight line to get from point A to point B. There are only two conditions: dry or wet. On ice, the car drifts and slides, it is never straight. There are more external parameters to take into account. The vehicles also have four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering, which is not the case elsewhere. So you have to deal with several differentials to get the front and rear wheels to roll.

How many people make up your Sainteloc team?

One operations engineer is dedicated to one car, so there are three engineers in total. There are also two data engineers and two mechanics for each car.

What do you see as the car of the future?

It is impossible to say. The new technologies in the automotive sector are evolving so fast. It is already difficult to say what the sport will be like in two or three years' time. When I started in the Andros Trophy, electric cars did not exist. We had to adapt, question ourselves and change our point of view. There is no doubt that full electric cars will continue to grow. Hydrogen seems to have a future. I am convinced that one day we will be driving flying cars. The future will tell!