This work presents the initial design process for carbon fiber wheels for a Formula Studentrace car using topology optimization. The reason new wheels are needed is becausethe gearbox concept has changed from planetary carrier drive to ring gear drive. Theobjective is to minimize wheel weight while maintaining sufficient structural strengthunder representative racing loads. Simplified load cases were developed to simulatecombined braking and cornering forces. The design process began by identifying availablematerial placement areas, considering the constraints imposed by the in-wheel gearboxand motors. Preliminary optimization results demonstrate a reduction in mass from 2.2kg for the baseline aluminum rim to 1 kg for the optimized carbon fiber design, whilesatisfying the specified load-bearing requirements. The directly optimized geometry is not manufacturable in its current form; however, its structural features will inform the design of a feasible rim. One important takeaway from this work is that, when the design domain is restricted, the stiffest shape often takes the form of a sandwich structure.