About F1 in Schools™
"Spanning age ranges of 9 to 19, our main objective is to help change the perceptions of science, technology, engineering and maths by creating a fun and exciting learning environment for young people to develop an informed view about careers in engineering, Formula 1, science, marketing and technology."
- Our Mission, F1 in Schools
The Challenge
The F1 in Schools™ STEM Challenge is the worlds largest high school engineering competition, with 17,000 schools in over 51 countries getting involved.
Participants form teams of up to 6 people, to compete against other teams in their region to produce the fastest miniature Formula One® car. This is the primary aim, but this only contributes to around a quarter of a team's overall score. Teams are also assessed on their engineering ideas, processes, innovations, project management, leadership, marketing, communication, and graphic design.
F1 in Schools™ is heavily endorsed by Formula One®, often with National Finals and World Finals previously held alongside Formula One™ races.
The teams participating in the 2019 World Finals on the starting grid at the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
An example of the CAD software teams must use to design their cars.
Wind tunnel testing of a car prototype.
Engineering
F1 in Schools™ cars are meticulously engineered, with teams testing hundreds of designs using a wide variety of physical and virtual testing methods.
The teams engage with industry-standard Computer Aided Design (CAD) parametric modelling software to design the car to a strict set of regulations, whilst innovating to find a competitive edge.
Computational Fluid Dynamics and Finite Element Analysis testing is completed to virtually optimise the aerodynamic and structural elements of the car design before any prototypes are made. Teams also devise and perform investigations involving physical prototypes, such as impact testing, wind tunnel smoke trail analysis, track testing, and more.
Teams also must manufacture the majority of their cars themselves, utilising innovative manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing, CNC milling, and lathe based manufacturing.
Each team must thoroughly document their engineering process in a portfolio, which is assessed by a panel of judges alongside a pair of interviews.
Enterprise
In addition to engineering a car, teams are assessed on the enterprise aspects of running a team.
This includes all facets of project management, as well as graphic design, communication, and marketing. Teams document all their enterprise-related work in another portfolio, as well as constructing a display to showcase their team. These are assessed individually, in a marketing interview and in a formal presentation to a panel of judges.
A large part of teams' enterprise assessment is their ability to raise funds for their team, and how they manage marketing their team to manage donations and sponsorship. Each team must have a fully comprehensive plan for their approach to giving sponsors a meaningful return on investment.
Aeolus' award winning national finals display.
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