Two week countdown: Double World Champion Fernando Alonso and Super Aguri’s Anthony Davidson throw their weight behind F1 in Schools

With just two weeks to go until the 2008 F1 in Schools World Championships, Double World Champion Fernando Alonso and Super Aguri’s Anthony Davidson have given their backing to the F1 in Schools initiative.

Renault F1 driver Fernando Alonso said: “It’s always good to do things that get young people interested in motorsport, especially on the technical side, and this competition is the ideal way to do that. It gives them an opportunity to learn about engineering and to see the challenges that you face in a competitive environment.”

Anthony Davidson continues to offer his support to the initiative: “I think F1 in Schools is a great idea, and a brilliant project for the pupils to be involved in. It encourages schools to see F1, and motorsports generally, as a serious career option, and gives the students the chance to get some vital experience and contacts.”

Alonso and Davidson join Chief Executive of The Formula One Group Bernie Ecclestone, Red Bull Racing’s David Coulthard and F1 in Schools 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 Lead Commentator as key supporters of the F1 in Schools Technology Challenge.

Currently the 25 teams are busy fine tuning their miniature F1 cars, spell checking their presentations, and putting the finishing touches on their portfolios as they prepare for their life-changing trip to Malaysia.

The teams will be treated like royalty from the minute they arrive in Kuala Lumpur, with a police escort to KL city centre for a cultural visit and a trip to the Skybridge of the Petronas Twin Towers where they will participate in a gift exchange as a gesture of goodwill and friendship. Each team brings a token gift which represents their country to exchange with other teams.

All the teams will get the chance to attend the Petronas Formula One™ Malaysian Grand Prix but as an extra special prize, the newly crowned World Champions will have access to the prestigious Formula 1 paddock where they can rub shoulders with Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso as well as seeing the cars close up in the garages.

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, during the build up to the Petronas Formula One™ Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit. Over three days of action-packed competition, the teams will pit their small scale miniature F1 cars against each other along a 20-metre two lane track at a scale speed of over 220mph.

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.

School children from 15 countries across the globe have won their way through regional and national finals, and competed against a global reach of 7 million students, to win the chance to represent their countries in the fourth annual World Championships. Teams will compete to win the Bernie Ecclestone World Championship Trophy and BEng Automotive and Motor Sport Engineering scholarships at City University, London.

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