These National Champions Of 'F1 in Schools' Will Represent India In Finals Alongside Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

When you blend Formula One with an educational curriculum of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), you get ¡®F1 in Schools¡¯, a global educational challenge for students between 9 to 19 years of age from all over the world.

The national finals of F1 in Schools India, Season 2, culminated in great enthusiasm for the three winning teams on April 27, at Amity University, Noida.

A total of whopping 80 teams competed in the finals making it a hard-earned victory for the winners. The winning teams will represent India in world finals that will coincide with Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2019.

Winning Teams

1. Orion Racing, Scottish High International School, Gurgaon

Aryan Sholapure (Team Manager), Ashutush Choudhury (Manufacturing Engineer), Minwoo Kim (Design Engineer), Ryan Sony (Graphic Designer & Resource Manager)

2. Matadors, Amity International School (AIS), Saket

Sukriti Gupta (Team Manager), Noor Sharma (Marketing and Sponsorship Manager), Vivaan Wadhwa (Manufacturing Engineer), Aaryan Goyal (Design Engineer), Jaisal Kothari (Graphic and Design Engineer), Swetabh Changkakoti (Systems and Design Engineer)

3. Stallion, The British School, New Delhi

Pranav Jain (Team Manager and Design Engineer), Ariya Maskara (Social Media and Marketing Manager), Harshavardhan Mishra (Resources Manager), Noor Shamji (Graphic Designer), Adavya Goel (Sponsorship Manager), Ayaan Khan (Manufacturing Engineer)

"The determination and focus my team had for this challenge was exceptional. While we recorded the race time of 1.129 seconds to cover the entire track in the regional round, we took only 1.047 seconds in the finals. Our total race time in finals was 1.237 seconds. These numbers prove we have worked very hard to win¡± says Priyanka Lalwani, the Coordinator of Orion Racing.

Supported by prominent brands, such as, Formula One, Alpha Romeo, Mercedes and AMG Petronas, this world famous STEM challenge is based upon manufacturing a miniature model car, keeping its design and engineering parameters in line with an actual Formula One car. The model car must be built using CAD/CAM design tools and are powered by CO2 cartridges.

These cars are then required to prove their mettle on a standard track length of 25 meters, on various parameters including that of speed, design, built and overall engineering fundamentals.

The race time being a significant winning parameter has two categories ¨C ¡®Car Race Time¡¯ is the amount of time the car takes to cover the 25-meter track, and the ¡®Total Race Time¡¯ is the race time that also includes human reaction to trigger the car.

Aryan Sholapure, the team Manager of Orion Racing is 16 years old and is a car enthusiast. Ever since he was 9 years old, he has been reading TopGear Magazines and often goes on car drives with his father. He says, his love for cars and speed has deeply engrained in his life journey since his childhood and F1 in Schools is an apt platform for him to make his dreams come true.

¡°The competition is not just about Formula One. It¡¯s about developing students as efficient STEM professionals. It¡¯s about learning various aspects of manufacturing & design technologies, research, material procurement, resource management, branding and team identity, and seeking sponsorships.

We were judged on a total of 1000 points. 250 points were for how the car performs and 750 points were based on other aspects of design and engineering¡± said Aryan in an interview.

F1 in Schools is an equal opportunity platform for all students regardless of their gender. Moreover, it encourages girl-students to come forward and take part in the competition.

Team Metadors of AIS has set a fine example of how females can lead the world of mechanics and automotive engineering by assigning a girl-student, Sukriti Gupta, as their Team Manager. Sukriti who is leading the team of 6 members says it¡¯s her team who motivated her to become their manager. Moreover, the boys in her team are very supportive of her decisions.

¡°Our best car timing was 1.155 seconds. Thanks to our relentless team work. Moreover our team is a fine mix of girls and boys and our team manager is a girl and she is the best.

We already have the world finals exposure from last year so we know how the international teams work¡± said Archana Singh, coordinator of Metadors.

The British School had an added reason to celebrate. While their Team Stallion stood winners in the regular category with Car Race Time of 1.187 seconds and Total Race Time of 1.339 seconds, their all-girls team, Team Venti bagged the Women in Motorsports Award.

This was a special category for all-girls team. Team Venti was second Runners-Up at the Regional round and won an award for Best Design and Engineering portfolio. Team Venti is made of Shruti Sood (Team manager), Aadhya Vyas (Sponsorship Manager), Naina Bahl (Resource Manager/Graphic Designer), Natalia P Nayyar (Design Engineer), Sasha Bhatia (Manufacturing Engineer) and Vidhi Sikaria (Graphic Designer).

Sunny Thakral, Team Coordinator of Stallion says they have a white board in school dedicated to F1 in Schools. On that board they have written ¡®0.916 seconds¡¯, which is the world record for Car Race Time set by Team Infinitude?, Australia ¨C and Stallion aims is to beat it one day.

¡°The biggest challenge is to raise money from Indian manufacturers. It is hard to explain to them what the competition is about. So there is more awareness needed about this. Getting sponsors is the key for us to do well¡± said Pranav Jain, Stallion¡¯s Team Manger.

While this competition is mainly accessible to schools in big cities, the officials of F1 in Schools are planning to reach out to Tier-2, Tier-3 cities, and government schools.

¡°Indian educational system still lacks R&D and it¡¯s a very nascent stage for F1 in Schools India. In future we would like to have at least one government school represent our country on world level. We are planning to collaborate with the government in promoting this competition to other small cities¡± said Mr. YashRaj Singh, In-Country chief of F1 in Schools, India.

The author is a Haryana based freelance contributor.