PIQUET JR, TRULLI AND GLOCK SUPPORT “STARS OF THE FUTURE” IN F1 IN SCHOOLS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Nelson Piquet Jr, Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock have become the latest famous figures in Formula One to give their backing to the F1 in Schools challenge ahead of next week’s World Championships.
Rookie Renault F1 driver Nelson Piquet Jr said: “F1 in Schools is an exciting project. It’s great that so many youngsters all over the world want to get involved and are showing an interest in the design and engineering of racing cars. They are the engineers of the future and schemes like this can inspire them to follow their dreams and maybe one day work in Formula 1.”
Reigning GP2 champion and Panasonic Toyota Racing new boy Timo Glock said: “Since I started my racing career, my goal has been to race in Formula 1 and I know how difficult it can be to fulfil your dreams and reach Formula 1. You have to be dedicated and work really hard. F1 in Schools is great because it gives young people the chance to take the first steps towards achieving their goals.”
Team mate Jarno Trulli commented: “I think it’s fantastic to give young people the chance to experience some of what Formula 1 is about. F1 in Schools makes engineering more exciting for students and shows them that one day they could be designing real Formula 1 cars of the future.”
In the last couple of weeks, Bernie Ecclestone, Fernando Alonso, David Coulthard and Anthony Davidson have thrown their weight behind the initiative, while Ross Brawn, Honda Team Principal; Adrian Newey, Red Bull Technical Officer; Mike Gascoyne, Force India F1 Chief Technical Officer; Pat Symonds, Renault Engineering Director; Sam Michael, Williams Technical Director and James Allen, ITV F1 Lead Commentator are already key supporters of the F1 in Schools Technology Challenge.
With just seven days to go, the 25 teams are busy fine tuning their miniature F1 cars as they prepare for the all important time trials on the final day of the World Championships. Teams will race their own car on a specially designed 20 metre track to test the speed of each F1 in Schools model car. Powered by CO2, the cars are fired down the track at a scale speed equivalent to over 220 mph and with the world record set at just over one second, there’s a great chance this year’s teams could dip under the elusive 1s barrier.
Tuesday and Wednesday will see the teams show off their pit garages and display their portfolios ahead of the first round of judging. Each team will then give a verbal presentation to a panel of judges on the process of designing, engineering and manufacturing their World Championship entry to build up a points going into the time trials.
There will be plenty to fight for in Malaysia as the teams compete for a range of awards: World Champions (achieved by collecting the most points), Fastest Car, Best Engineered Car, Innovative Thinking, Best Newcomer, Best Team Sponsorship/Marketing and Best Collaborative Teams.
When they’re not competing, the students will be treated like royalty with a police escort to KL city centre for a cultural visit and a trip to the Skybridge of the Petronas Twin Towers after which they will participate in a gift exchange as a gesture of goodwill and friendship. Each team brings a token gift which represents their country to exchange with other teams.
All the teams will get the chance to watch the Petronas Formula One™ Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit but as an extra special prize, the prize winners and newly crowned World Champions will have access to the prestigious Formula 1 paddock where they can rub shoulders with Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso as well as seeing the cars close up in the garages.
The 2008 World Championships are taking place in the Grand Lagoon Ballroom at the 5* Sunway Lagoon Resort and Spa Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 18th to 20th March.
School children aged 11 to 18 from 15 countries across the globe have won their way through regional and national finals, and competed against a global reach of 7 million students, to win the chance to represent their countries in the fourth annual World Championships. Teams will compete to win the Bernie Ecclestone World Championship Trophy and BEng Automotive and Motor Sport Engineering scholarships at City University London.
- F1 in Schools is the only global multi-disciplinary challenge for students aged 10 to 18.- The founding constitution of F1 in Schools stipulates that it is, and shall remain a not-for-profit organisation. Based in London, and supported by the IET, funds are raised through sponsorship, invested in administering, developing and expanding the challenge.- Working in teams of between three and six, each student is assigned roles. The team prepares a business plan, develops a budget and raises sponsorship to fund research, travel and accommodation. - The challenge inspires students to use IT to learn about physics, aerodynamics, design, manufacture, branding, graphics, sponsorship, marketing, leadership, teamwork, media skills and financial strategy, and apply them in a practical, imaginative, competitive and exciting way.- Using 3D CAM (Computer Aided Manufacture) software, the team evaluates the most efficient machining strategy to make the car.- Aerodynamics are tested in wind and smoke tunnels and analysed for drag co-efficiency in a virtual reality wind tunnel using Computational Fluid Dynamics Software (CPD).
