This year’s F1 in Schools World Finals take place on October 16-19 in Austin in the build-up to the 2016 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas. The global, multi-disciplinary challenge sees teams of students aged 9 to 19 deploy CAD/CAM software to collaborate, design, analyse, manufacture, test, and then race miniature compressed air-powered balsa wood F1 cars. Here’s the lowdown on the teams that have battled their way through to the Texas showdown…
To find out more about F1 in Schools, click here.
Aeolus Racing, Greece
Six boys, 16- to 18-years-old, are from two Athens schools. They are very excited with the prospect of visiting the USA, let alone competing in the F1 in Schools World Finals. The chance to go to an F1 Grand Prix is also a dream come true for them.
Airy Eagles, Austria
This leading Austrian team has five members from two schools, with four boys and one girl, has the slogan ‘work hard, play hard’ and are looking forward to living up to this in Austin. They all have a positive mindset and would like to see their team at the top.
BLAZE, China
Two boys and four girls, aged 16 and 17, began their journey in January this year. They are creative, united and diligent, and are willing to try everything new despite encountering unknown difficulties. They learn from their experience and experience from others.
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Blaze Racing Team, Cyprus
Five boys and a girl, 17- to 19-years-old, are newcomers to F1 in Schools, describing themselves as strong, fast and approachable. They have a close and crazy bond with each other which often puts to rest the small tensions that are naturally created within a team.
Cathay Racers China & Hong Kong, China
The team is made up of six boys ranging in age from 16 to 17. “Our team’s strength comes from our national unity and desire to put all else aside to achieve what others said was impossible. We are adaptable, outgoing, and persistent."
Doppler Racing, Vietnam
Two boys and two girls, all 17, established their team a year ago. In Vietnam, the F1 in Schools competition is not well known. Therefore, not only did they have to design and manufacture an incredibly fast car, they also managed to establish a solid reputation within the country and several well renowned multinational companies.
Elixir Racing, Malaysia
This team of 17-year-olds, with three girls and one boy, won an impressive four awards at their National Final. The team has a very special patron, The Royal Highness Sultanah Pahang, Sultanah Hajjah Kalsom binti Abdullah, and the team were lucky enough to visit the palace to meet her.
Endeavour, Germany
A team of four boys and a girl from three different schools have collaborated to form Endeavour. The team has worked hard to build a strong relationship between the team members and their partners and aspire to win an award.
Enigma UK, UK
A team of 15- and 16-year-old students with five girls and one boy, Enigma UK are a close-knit team and are looking forward to all that Austin has to offer. They are all excited about applying for the Randstad Williams Engineering Academy that links F1 in Schools to the real world of Formula One.
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Estrella, Jordan
Five 17-year-old girls from Amman will represent their country and are all keen to meet their competitors in Austin. They reckon that the secret to their success is a creative spirit that doesn’t accept anything less than perfect and a magical chemistry and trust within the team.
Fast Payce, Australia
Four 16-year-old boys will be one of the teams representing Australia this year. The smaller team has added to their workloads, but it has its advantages such as close teamwork and better communication, which they feel is a great asset for their team.
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Fast Tech Crew, Germany
Five boys aged 17 to 18, Fast Tech Crew sum themselves up as highly professional, goal-oriented and unpredictable. They are focusing on all elements of the competition and are going to their limits and beyond in their preparations with the goal of being the very best in everything.
Finkas, Peru
Five 17-year-olds, four boys and a girl, are the first team to represent Peru in the World Finals. They want to create a legacy for their school so that competing in F1 in Schools becomes a tradition. They want to represent their country in the best possible way, meet other teams from around the world and see their achievements.
FlashPoint, Canada
The four 17-year-old boys from Toronto started out as Team Obelisk, joining with another team from the school, Genesis, to form Flashpoint. They believe that of the many benefits of the competition, one is the insight into how marketing and engineering works in the real world.
Fusion Racing, Germany & UK
This German/British collaboration brings together six 16-year-olds - three boys from the UK with two boys and a girl from Germany -with the two halves of the team meeting for the first time in Austin. They know that they need to get the maximum out of everything to make their dream of podium success come true.
Galax, Singapore
Three boys and three girls with a passion and drive to excel, the team liken themselves to an F1 car. “We are fast. We are unstoppable,” they say. With a target of breaking the world record, the team has big ambitions and they are also looking forward to meeting new friends from all over the world and having fun too.
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Harlem United, USA
The six 16- and 17-year-olds, two girls and four boys, formed less than two years ago are the first Native American team to make it to the World Finals. Meeting new people, new cultures, as well as sharing theirs, is exciting for the team, as well as seeing an F1 Grand Prix for the first time.
Hurricane Racing, Ireland
Six 16- and 17-year-old boys formed a team less than a year ago and see themselves as the underdogs. They say their drive and motivation makes them different to the other teams, and quote a famous athlete saying: "The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."
Impulse, United Arab Emirates
The youngest team competing in Austin, three boys and two girls aged 12 and 13, already have three years’ experience of F1 in Schools. They are passionate about racing and watch F1 to learn and get inspired for their design, with strong rivalry between the team members who support different F1 drivers.
Infinite Racing, Greece
Three boys and two girls with ages ranging from 15 to 18 won through to Austin after three years of competing. They want to enjoy their journey and gain as much experience as they can, meeting other teams, making new friendships and participating at the highest level.
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Infinitude, Australia
An in-country collaboration with five boys and one girl, aged 15 to 16, formed after their National Finals. As a fairly new, young team they hope to use this to their advantage, bringing new and innovative ideas and changing the way that they learn.
Inv1ctus, Portugal
These four 18-year-old boys have taken four years to reach the World Finals, chasing their dream and never giving up. They say that F1 in Schools has given them things that money can’t buy and school can’t teach - and four years of pure adrenalin.
Kinetikos Racing, Scotland
Six 15- and 16-year-olds, five boys and one girl, have been together for a year. Committed, passionate and witty, they say that the secret to their success is Alberto Balsam shampoo! They are hoping to make plenty of friends from all over the world.
Knight Hawks, United Arab Emirates
Six 16- and 17-year-old boys from Dubai, the team members have been involved since 2011. They say that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for all of them and are looking forward to making a huge impact at the event.
LeSports Chequered Flag Racing, China
Three boys and two girls, all 17, formed this team last year and have been very successful in the Nationals. They’re looking to beat the achievements of previous China World Finals teams and are keen to compete against other national champions.
Lobos Racing, Mexico
Named after the Mexican wolf, four 17- and 18-year-old boys want to show young Mexicans how a positive attitude and hard work can bring success and leave a mark. A big challenge for the team is manufacturing.
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Panteras Racing, Mexico
The first-ever F1 in Schools champion of Mexico is a team of 17- and 18-year-olds. They are a team committed to their legacy, with a passion for learning and great attention to detail. Their journey has given them the chance to appreciate the complexity of Formula One.
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RPD Racing, Romania
Four girls and one boy aged 15 to 18, they are from Romania, Turkey and England. This international quintet formed the team early this year and will be trailblazers for their countries, with a Romanian team participating at the World Finals for the first time.
S.T.E.A.M Team, Jordan
Five 13- to 16-year-olds with an interest in cars, planes, physics and engineering came together to form the team. They are looking forward to the experience of the World Finals and say that they’ll learn from any mistakes, that they are aiming to win the Knock-out and, hopefully, the Finals.
SinoDraco & Forward, China
This team has a mix of 16- to 19-year-old students from schools in Beijing and Shanghai, with five boys and one girl. They are keen to compete against other national champions, are looking forward to making lots of friends, and know that they have plenty of challenges ahead at the World Finals.
Sixth Degree, England
Three boys, all 18, and three girls, all 16, will represent England. They believe that the strength of their engineering understanding will set them apart from other teams. A good chemistry within the team has made them highly productive.
Supermac's Racing, Ireland
Four boys and two girls, aged 16 and 17, are sponsored by Supermac’s, Ireland’s largest fast food chain, With power, performance and precision at their heart, they are proud to have done all their engineering, design and manufacture in house.
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Tachyon, Wales
Four 15-year-old girls from Wales will make their second appearance at a World Finals. Their toughest challenge has been fundraising, but with their team motto of ‘keep calm and carry on’ they’ve reached their target.
Taurus Racing, USA
Four 15- and 16-year-old boys are in their second year as a team and won the US National Finals. Their secret to success is passion and dedication, and they say they’ve learnt an enormous amount about engineering and wouldn’t be as smart as they are today if it weren’t for F1 in Schools.
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Team Aeronauts, Singapore
Four 15-year-old girls formed a team in January 2015 and have been working hard, bonding closely and having a lot of fun together. They are an all-girls team that is passionate about engineering, seeking to speed past boundaries, despite engineering being a male-dominated industry.
Team Mu Racing, USA
Six 17-year-old boys have been friends throughout high school and built a passion for cars. The team has been together for one year and has been working tirelessly towards succeeding in the World Final’s competition.
Team United, UK
Three boys and three girls, 14 to 15-years-old, came together from three other F1 in Schools team, uniting to create a team of skilled individuals. One of the benefits of F1 in Schools for this team is the confidence it has given them.
Team ZERO, Australia
Three 16- and 17-year-old boys describe themselves as ‘Edge of Perfection’. They are totally dedicated to the competition and are willing to work harder and sleep less than their competitors, saying that they won’t give up until they’ve achieved what they set out to do.
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United Wings, Mexico & USA
A team of 16- and 17-year-old boys and girls, this collaboration has had to overcome the challenge of different languages and getting input for written documents. The secret of their success is the effort, teamwork, discipline, perseverance and especially the passion that each one of the members has to succeed.
