It will be a day to remember for SBA Avidity Racing, a team of students from Scarborough UTC who celebrated being crowned UK National Champions at the 2021 F1 in Schools National Finals held last week at the F1 in Schools headquarters, Brighouse. The team win through to the 2022 Aramco F1 in Schools World Finals, receive work placements at Alpine F1 in Enstone, Oxfordshire, UCL Engineering bursaries to the value of £5000 and the UK Champions trophy. 

​SBA Avidity Racing with team members Missy McArdle - Team Principal and Business Manager (17), Libby Atkin - Project Manager (16), Alex Jenkin - Design and Manufacturing Engineer (17) put a supreme effort into winning their F1 in Schools National Champions title. SBA Avidity also won the Best Engineered Car Award supported by Williams Racing and Team Principal, Missy McArdle, won the Girls on Track UK Award supported by Motorsport UK.

Missy, said of winning the Champions title, “It hasn’t sunk in yet as to what we have achieved. We’ve put in hundreds and hundreds of hours staying late after school for many, many evenings, but it was all worth it. F1 in Schools offers so many opportunities for everyone, whether you go to the best private school or a local secondary school, it’s open to all. Winning the Alpine F1 placements is amazing. I can’t actually believe we’re going to be doing work experience at an F1 team.”

“The next step is the World Finals. We think we’ve done a lot of work now, but I know there will be so much more work for us ahead. We’re so immersed in it right now, but we just need to keep stepping it up and get to that next level. We’ve spotted areas of improvement for our car, how we want to re-design it and go again.
 
 We want to give our partners a massive shout out, to thank Scarborough Business Ambassadors, Nissan, Igus, BDC Machinery and Carter Bearings for all the help they’ve given us, our car wouldn’t be at the level it is now without their help and support.”
 
Blackout, from St John’s College, Cardiff were the runners-up to SBA Avidity Racing, also receiving an invitation to the World Finals to represent Wales. They celebrated setting a new UK speed record during the competition, with their car recording a time of 1.036 seconds on the official F1 in Schools track, surpassing the previous record of 1.041 set in 2019. The third placed team, Eclipse from Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Faversham join Blackout and SBA Avidity Racing at the World Finals. Scotland will also be represented at the World Finals, with Fibonacci from James Gillespies High School & George Heriots School, Edinburgh taking this honour. The Development Class champions, Anemoi Racing from St Paul's Girls' School, Hammersmith, London were delighted to take victory in this category and win a place at the Aramco 2022 World Finals too.

Andrew Denford, Chairman and Founder of F1 in Schools said of this year’s competition, “Every year we see more innovative, more professional, more sophisticated presentations at the National Finals and once again the teams have raised the bar. My congratulations go to SBA Avidity Racing for taking the title; they put tremendous effort into their entry and it is a testament to their determination to succeed that they achieved their victory.
 
​“We’ve seen the cream of young engineering talent at this year’s finals and I’m sure that many of them will consider a career in industry, which makes me very proud. We are already seeing F1 in Schools ‘graduates’ taking roles in the automotive and F1 sectors, as well as using the initiative to stand out from the crowd in their efforts to win university places and, ultimately, positions within industry.”
 
F1 in Schools, now in its 21st year, is the world’s biggest, most exciting student STEM initiative. 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 Final took 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. ​

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.