F1 IN Schools showcases education programme in Abu Dhabi F1 GP paddock

Nov 24, 2018

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The world leading global education initiative, F1 in Schools, will be showcasing its programme in the F1 paddock at the final round of the 2018 Formula 1 World Championship, being held in Abu Dhabi this weekend. The Official F1 in Schools 20 metres race track, an example of a pit booth and the processes used in the design, test and manufacturing of an F1 in Schools race car will be on display.

A bespoke exhibition area in the central paddock area of the Yas Marina Circuit details the work produced by Desert Storm, a team of students from Umm Al Arab School in Abu Dhabi, with a highly visual display of prototypes, designs, research and testing employed by the team in the development of their F1 in Schools Car. The display also includes the machinery used for production of the car with a router, wind tunnel, and 3D printer demonstrating the manufacturing process for the car.

The F1 in Schools track will showcase the racing element of the programme. Each ‘driver’ needs lightning reactions to respond to the five lights to trigger the car blasting along the track, in a time of around one second. Paddock visitors will be invited to test their reaction times with racing throughout each day and the best scores will be recorded on the F1 in Schools leaderboard.

The F1 in Schools paddock activity at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the first time that the programme has been showcased to the Formula 1 community. Andrew Denford, Founder and Chairman of F1 in Schools says, “I would like to thank Formula 1 and Yas Marina Circuit for giving us the opportunity to bring F1 in Schools into the heart of Formula 1. It’s very important for us to engage with the F1 community and expand the understanding of our programme, how it benefits young people and the value it has to the sport, inspiring future generations of F1 engineers, marketeers and business professionals.”

He adds, “ We hope that everyone visiting the paddock and working within F1 will take a few minutes to visit our display, have a go at F1 in Schools racing and learn more about the programme. We’re very proud of our achievements with our ‘alumni’ now working within the sport and the wider motorsport industry, as well as over 25 F1 in Schools World Finalists now being part of the Unilever Williams Engineering Academy, an initiative that takes its intake exclusively from our World Finals each year.”

Al Tareq Al Ameri, CEO of Yas Marina Circuit, says: “We are delighted to partner with F1 in Schools and look forward to welcoming the teams to the Paddock at Yas Marina Circuit during race weekend. The activation provides an opportunity to showcase the fantastic work being done by F1 in Schools to new audiences from around the world and is a further evolution that builds on our great work we have achieved together so far.”

F1 in Schools started in the UK in 2000 and since this time has expanded across the globe, enjoying year-on-year international growth. It is now accessible to over 26 million students in 45 countries. Researching, designing, making and racing an F1 car of the future is at its core. Teams then race each other head-to-head on the F1 in Schools race track. The programme, with its multi-disciplinary approach embracing key skills across STEM, while inspiring many students to consider engineering as a career, benefits all the students involved. It develops their confidence through team work and verbal presentations needed in the judging elements and often sparks a passion for a specific expertise, whether this is managing people, marketing the team or creating artistic graphics and displays. For further information visit www.f1inschools.com

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