Teamwork is the name of the game

Collaboration is the name of the game at this year’s F1 in Schools World Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as the competition embraces four unique teams from six countries working together to win the coveted Bernie Ecclestone World Championship Trophy in the only competition of its kind.

Bernie Ecclestone, Chief Executive of The Formula One Group said: “I think the collaboration element of the competition is a fantastic idea. Formula One brings together a range of nationalities and cultures who work together to achieve a common goal and so replicating this in the F1 in Schools initiative will prove invaluable both personally and professionally for all the students taking part.”

Team Hybrid from USA & Scotland led the way with the first ever collaboration entry at last year’s World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. Following their unprecedented success, they will be joined in this year’s competition by South Africa & Scotland, Singapore & USA and Malaysia & Germany. Countries that wish to take part in the collaboration category have been given an additional place in the competition alongside their respective teams as F1 in Schools looks to expand the global teamwork element of the initiative.

Andrew Denford, Founder and Chairman of F1 in Schools expressed his delight at the new category: “Having used video conferencing and internet communication tools, the teams will meet each other for the very first time on arrival in Malaysia! F1 in Schools is proud to draw students from totally diverse backgrounds and cultures and to encourage them to work together to achieve a common goal. We expect huge interest in this exciting new addition to the challenge as it not only opens up new areas of technology but creates long term partnerships and friendships between students and schools around the world.”

With Formula One™ reaching out to all corners of the globe, and its teams made up of a variety of nationalities working together to win the Formula One World Championship, F1 in Schools looks to replicate this scenario by bringing international business communication to the forefront and promoting global teamwork amongst young people.

The 2008 World Championships are taking place at the 5* Sunway Lagoon Resort and Spa Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 18th to 20th March 2008, during the build up to the Petronas Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit. School children from 15 countries across the globe have won their way through regional and national finals, and competed against over 7 million students, to win the chance to represent their countries in the fourth annual World Championships. Teams will compete to win the coveted Bernie Ecclestone World Championship Trophy and BEng Automotive and Motor Sport Engineering scholarships, one of the leading courses in the country, at City University London.

The aim of F1 in Schools is to encourage students to consider a career in engineering and aspire to become the next Ross Brawn or Pat Symonds, the top men behind the success of Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, by providing them with an enjoyable and exciting learning experience.

The challenge is for school children aged 11 to 18 to use CAD/CAM software to design, analyse, manufacture, test and race their miniature F1 car made from balsa wood and powered by CO2 cylinders.

With design and engineering playing a pivotal part in Formula One, the initiative has drawn support from all the F1 teams and is proud to have patrons Ross Brawn, Honda Team Principal, Adrian Newey, Red Bull Technical Officer, Mike Gascoyne, Force India F1 Chief Technical Officer, Pat Symonds, Renault Engineering Director, Sam Michael, Williams Technical Director and James Allen, ITV F1 Commentator in support as they look to keep an eye out for emerging technical stars of the future.

Collaboration Team List

USA/Scotland Team - Hybrid
Scottish participants from Lochgelly High School, Fife - Gemma Henderson, Andrew Howe and Stacey Haldane.
USA participants from East Cobb Middle School, Georgia, USA – Tyler Gagat, Geoff Gagat, Peter Moot.

South Africa/Scotland – Team Fusion
Scottish participants from Blairgowrie High School, Perthshire – Steven Welsh, Grant Duffy, Joao Martins.
South African participants from Maritzburg College – Roscoe McLean, Duncan McKune and Geoff Brown.

Germany/Malaysia – The Excaliburs
Malaysian participants from SMK Seksyen 9 School, Selangor – Acacia Mardiana Binti Daud, Ili Syahirah Binti Zainal Abidin, Kaiyisah Binti Abu Saffian.
German participants from Bildung fur Technik und Natur – Ramona Montanus, Rona Heuermann and Melina Montanus.

Singapore/USA – Inferno
Singapore participants from Hwa Chong Institution, Singapore – Tan Hui Min, Chan Xi Wen, Lee Si Min, Xie Caijing.
USA participants – Patrick Henry School, Virginia – Patrick Doherty

For more information on the 2008 F1 in Schools World Championships, images or to organise any interviews with team members please contact:
Lawrence Barretto on T: +44 20 7313 9180 or lawrence@khpconsulting.com

Final Entry List

Northern Ireland – Fuga - Defending World Champions
Australia – Impulse F1
Australia – Goshawk
China - Yong Shi
China - Guang Su
France – Pitomia
Germany – Friesen Design
Hong Kong – Dragons
Kuwait – LoYAC Racing
Malaysia - Rapid Blaze
Malaysia – Frontier
Singapore – Sonic_T
South Africa – Team Zealous
South Africa – Team Crushers
USA – S.E.M Racing
UK – Team Momentus
England – Pulse
Northern Ireland - DNA
Scotland – XLR8
Wales – Team Blaze
Ireland – Gear Force
Germany & Malaysia – The Excaliburs – Collaboration Team 1
South Africa & Scotland – Team Fusion – Collaboration Team 2
Singapore & USA – Inferno – Collaboration Team 3
USA & Scotland – Team Hybrid – Collaboration Team 4