Principia is here to win, and it won’t hesitate to help others do the same

Summary

<div class="feat-image"><img src="https://electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/07/53861274959_3627dc931f_k.jpg?quality=82&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1600" /></div><p class="wp-block-paragraph">The sun has just about risen on this year’s Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP), the pre-qualifying race before the renowned <a href="https://electrek.co/guides/american-solar-challenge/" id="https://electrek.co/guides/american-solar-challenge/" type="link">American Solar Challenge</a>. FSGP officially kicks off tomorrow morning for the teams that have passed rigorous safety and quality checks, known as “scrutineering.”</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of speaking directly with teams from around the world, including the <a href="https://electrek.co/2026/05/25/these-dutch-students-are-bringing-a-world-champion-solar-car-to-the-2026-electrek-american-solar-challenge/" id="https://electrek.co/2026/05/25/these-dutch-students-are-bringing-a-world-champion-solar-car-to-the-2026-electrek-american-solar-challenge/" type="link">Delft Solar Team</a> from the Netherlands and <a href="https://electrek.co/2026/06/26/this-canadian-team-has-raced-solar-cars-since-1992-and-theyre-bringing-their-best-yet-to-the-2026-electrek-american-solar-challenge/">ÉTS Éclipse</a> from Montreal. But for my final profile, I sat down with students from a small liberal arts school just outside St. Louis, right along the Mississippi River. <a href="https://www.principiasolarcar.com/" id="https://www.principiasolarcar.com/" type="link">Principia College</a> has a long-running solar car program, which is astonishing considering the school is in the middle of phasing out its only engineering program.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">So it was no surprise that after a few minutes speaking with the team’s leadership, I realized the car might end up being the least interesting thing about them.</p>