2021 uk champions to be crowned this week

Student teams from around the country will be racing for the chequered flag at this year’s F1 in Schools National Finals, hosted at the F1 in Schools headquarters in Brighouse, Yorkshire, with teams joining virtually to compete in this prestigious event. 

This year, for the first time, the UK champions will not only receive the impressive National Champions trophy and valuable UCL Mechanical Engineering bursaries, each winning team member will also be offered a work placement at Alpine F1 Team. 

The F1 in Schools teams have been working for many months to design, build and test their miniature F1 car. Putting the finishing touches to their race car liveries, completing the final test runs with their new cars, rehearsing their presentations and proofreading their portfolios, the students have been dedicating every spare minute to the competition. 

 F1 in Schools, now in its 21st year, is the biggest, most exciting student STEM initiative offered to schools. The National Finals will be the culmination of months of effort, with team work and commitment playing a key role for each student team. Between three and six students in each team will have assigned themselves specific roles and worked with their fellow students to produce a Formula 1 race car of the future. An expert panel of judges will not only be looking for a fast car, they will be rewarding innovation, presentation and the approach to the challenge, as well as marketing concepts, sponsorship acquisition, project management and the engineering techniques employed in the design and manufacture of the car. 

Andrew Denford, Founder and Chairman of F1 in Schools, looks forward to the National  Finals saying, “We’re expecting a strong grid of cars this year and although the students will not be able to be with us in person, we will have an immersive and intense two days of judging and racing for them, with plenty of interaction between judges, as well as meeting everyone online via Zoom.

A highly professional livestreamed event with host Tom Deacon, from Formula 1’s Esports series, and Lucy Brooks, an alumni of the competition alongside as the competition pundit will anchor the event. The teams will meet Tom and Lucy via Zoom, compete live in reaction racing and complete a series of judging sessions with experts from industry and education. 

Researching, designing, making and racing an F1 car of the future is at the core of F1 in Schools. Teams then race each other head-to-head on the F1 in Schools 20 metre racetrack. The challenge can be used as an education tool or hook to engage students in STEM subjects. This gives students the opportunity to develop key skills such as communication, presenting and teamwork, while forming the foundation for any career path they choose to follow. 

The F1 in Schools National Finals take place with the assistance of a host of sponsors and supporters.  F1 in Schools thanks Autodesk, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, UCL Engineering, Alpine F1 Team and PMIEF.