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

Ecclestone and Coulthard back F1 in Schools

Chief Executive of The Formula One Group Bernie Ecclestone and Red Bull Racing driver David Coulthard have given their support to the F1 in Schools initiative ahead of next month’s World Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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.”

Red Bull Racing’s David Coulthard is the latest high profile name to back the F1 in Schools initiative. “F1 in Schools offers young people aspiring to work in F1 a great opportunity to experience the demands of designing, engineering and manufacturing a racing car while contributing enormously to their education and enjoyment. It’s inspirational to see them channelling their enthusiasm into engineering and Formula One.”

Ecclestone and Coulthard join 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.

Ross Brawn, the engineering brains behind Michael Schumacher’s seven F1 world championships, said “My career in engineering started as a youngster because of an enthusiastic father and a Meccano set. F1 in Schools takes the idea to another level and contributes enormously to the education and enjoyment of these young people. There is such a broad range of disciplines along with the need to be part of a team within a competitive environment. You can see the sheer enthusiasm they have and it is great that all this enthusiasm is channelled into engineering and Formula One. These are our engineers of the future and our future is engineering.”

ITV-F1 lead commentator James Allen continues to show his support towards the F1 in Schools initiative: “I'm delighted to host the awards ceremony for the F1 in Schools world championships once again. It is a programme which I have supported with great enthusiasm for many years now. Each year the standard seems to get higher and this year is no exception. The level of engineering innovation these children attain is astonishing to me and to all the F1 engineers who come into the sphere of F1 in Schools.

“I'm fascinated to see how the long distance technical collaborations work this year. To see kids working together across continents using internet and video conferencing is hugely positive for the programme and if it proves a success this year I'm sure we'll see more of it in future,” said James Allen.

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.

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. Over three days of enthralling competition, 25 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.

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.

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

F1 IN SCHOOLS™ ANNOUNCE NEW SPONSOR

F1 in Schools™ is proud to announce SolidWorks Corporation, the world's leading 3D CAD software manufacturer for design, analysis and product data management, as a new UK sponsor and Global supplier for the next three seasons. The collaboration between SolidWorks and the F1 in Schools™ global Technology Challenge gives students entering the competition access to the key resources they need to enhance their engineering education.

The aim of F1 in Schools™ is to encourage students to consider engineering as a career, highlighting the positive nature of all that embraces engineering in a fun and positive way. The challenge is for school children aged 11 to 18 to use CAD/CAM software to design, analyse, manufacture, test and race a 20th scale model F1 car made from balsa wood and powered by CO2 cylinders.

The availability of the complimentary SolidWorks Student Design Kit 3D CAD software to all students who compete in the challenge will enable them to perform all of the design and analysis tasks undertaken by a typical engineer as they create scale model Formula 1 cars.

Founder and Chairman of the F1 in Schools™ Technology Challenge, Andrew Denford, commented on his delight of the new partnership, “We are thrilled that F1 in Schools™ has joined with SolidWorks to offer students a fresh incentive to join the challenge. Design and analysis is an integral part of F1 in Schools™; the 3D CAD software along with the available CAM software will provide valuable engineering skills. It will also give the students the ability to realise their designs before the manufacturing process, just like in the real world of Formula One™.”

“The challenge currently operates in 26 countries across the globe, with over 7 million school children aware of and participating in the competition; we aim to provide all of these students with the SolidWorks design software, giving F1 in Schools™ a huge technological appeal for students and schools alike.”

“Real-world experience is a powerful method of attracting students to productive engineering careers,” said Marie Planchard, SolidWorks’ director of world education markets. “The F1 in Schools™ competition provides an amazing opportunity for students to design, test and build their own designs and work as a team. We are proud to sponsor such a program.”
F1 in Schools™ is regarded by the Formula One™ fraternity as a platform for introducing Formula One™ to a global teen demographic. The student challenge is also helping Formula One™ shed its image as an elitist sport accessible only to multi-million pound budgets; on the contrary, F1 in Schools™ is open to any school with access to a simple computer. The 2008 World Championship will have the support of a host of companies, together with recognition from all the Formula One™ teams and its Patrons.

One month countdown - F1 in Schools gears up for 2008 World Championships

F1 in Schools has moved into top gear as it prepares for the 2008 World Championships to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in just one month’s time. School children from 17 countries across the world have battled 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.

Over three days of enthralling competition (18th-20th March 2008), 25 teams will pit their miniature F1 cars against each other along a 20-metre two lane track. Last year’s winners, Team Fuga from Northern Ireland stole the show when they set a new world record of 1.020 seconds to edge closer to the elusive one second barrier.

The aim of F1 in Schools is to encourage students to consider engineering as a career, highlighting the positive nature of all that embraces engineering by creating an enjoyable and exciting environment for young people to experience careers in engineering, Formula One, science, marketing and technology first hand. The challenge is for school children aged 11 to 18 to use CAD/CAM software to design, analyse, manufacture, test and race a 20th scale model F1 car made from balsa wood and powered by CO2.

This year’s World Championships sees four collaboration teams entering the contest as F1 in Schools strives to bring together different races and cultures from all corners of the globe to compete and work together. The collaboration sees two countries pooling their ideas, skills and teamwork together to produce one miniature F1 car.

The 2008 World Championships will take place in the Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 18th to 20th March 2008, the week leading up to the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit. A total of 25 teams representing their countries will contest the International event as they compete to win the coveted Bernie Ecclestone World Championship Trophy and an Automotive Engineering scholarship at City University, London.

Malaysia won the right to hold this year’s World Championships following the growing commitment to F1 in Schools from the Malaysian Ministry of Education.

Malaysian Minister of Education, Dato Sri Hishammuddin Hussein said: "We are honoured that F1 in Schools has chosen Malaysia as the host of the world finals. Malaysia is a growing motorsport nation, and we hope that having such a high profile, youth orientated, motorsport event in Malaysia, alongside our Grand Prix weekend will generate widespread interest both locally and in other Asian countries and showcase the educational and ICT initiatives we are developing within our country."

Andrew Denford, Founder and Chairman of F1 in Schools Ltd expressed his delight ahead of the World Championships in Malaysia. "Malaysia is the first country to adopt F1 in Schools into the national curriculum and new initiatives in teaching and learning and is therefore the ideal host for the 2008 World Championships.

“Last year’s World Championships in Melbourne, Australia were an amazing success, and this year we hope for an even greater level of competition between the teams.”

In 2007, the World Champions were Team Fuga, from Northern Ireland. They set a new world speed record of 1.020 seconds down the 20-metre race track, at a scale speed of over 220 mph per hour and will return next month to defend their title. The runners-up were the all-girl trio from Scotland, Team Lightning, followed by another all-girl team in third place, Mercurial Ace from Malaysia. The world record set in 2006 by Malaysia was broken no less than nine times over the four days!

The competition has grown year on year since its birth in 2000, with over 7 million students aware of and taking part around the globe. Bernie Ecclestone, President and CEO of Formula One Management gave his support to F1 in Schools by granting the challenge a world-wide protected trademark and a new logo in 2005. Since this time the initiative has gained the support of several patrons from within the world of Formula One including Honda Team Principal Ross Brawn, Red Bull Technical Officer Adrian Newey, Force India F1 Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne, Renault Engineering Director Pat Symonds, Williams Technical Director Sam Michael and ITV F1 Commentator James Allen amongst others.


Confirmed Entry List

Northern Ireland – Team Fuga - Defending World Champions

Australia – Impulse F1
Australia – Goshawks
China –Yonh Shi
China – =Guang Su
France – Pitomia
Germany – Friesen Design
Hong Kong – Dragons
Kuwait – Lo YAC Racing
Malaysia – Frontier
Malaysia – Rapid Blaze
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 – 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

YNYSAWDRE COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL STUDENTS BLAZE THE TRAIL

WELSH TEAM CROWNED UK FORMULA ONE IN SCHOOLS CHAMPIONS




‘Blaze’, a student team from Ynysawdre School, Bridgend, Wales raced their Formula One car to victory today to be crowned UK champions at the National Finals of the prestigious F1 in Schools Formula One Technology Challenge, held at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham’s NEC.

The aspiring Formula One designers of the future developed their own scale model racing car for the Challenge, putting in over 300 hours of work each to realise their dream of producing a winning F1 car. The students’ dedication and passion for the project included designing the car with CAD software, manufacturing it using CNC technology, and testing it on their own test track.

Patrick Pang, Team Manager, Blaze, said of winning the 2008 F1 in Schools title, “We’re over the moon! We’ve put a lot of effort into our car for this year’s Challenge and we’ve got the best reward we could get. The standard is really high and we didn’t think we’d get the overall title today, so we’re really pleased. We won the Welsh title last year, but this is a really big accolade and we just can’t believe it.”

With over 200 teams competing this year, Blaze fought through the tough South Wales regional final to win a place at the National Finals. At this event they were pitted against the best teams from around the country, beating their rivals to take the crown. The team’s car posted one of the fastest times of the day and their presentation also scored top marks, with the team showing their initiative by raising £3,500 sponsorship support from local companies, and raising funds for their programme with a range of activities including sales of Tshirts, posters, badges and keyrings.

The Ynysawdre school team win a place at the 2009 World Championships, which will be held alongside an international Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2009. At the World Championships teams from 20 countries around the globe will compete to win the Bernie Ecclestone World Championship Trophy and secure a coveted scholarship at City University London to study Automotive Engineering, a highly valuable prize which will give the students a firm foundation for an engineering career. They also win VIP tickets to this year’s British Grand Prix.

The National Finals featured 23 awards, with 17 different schools from across the UK taking home the trophies. Blaze won the 16+ age group as well as the overall title, beating Spectrum F1 from Robert May’s School, Odiham, winners of the 14-16 years age group and The Hippos Strike Back from St Gregory the Great School, Oxford in the 11-14 years age group. In the Primary School finals Antrim Griffins from Antrim Primary School, Northern Ireland took victory with St. Canice Primary School, Dungiven, North Ireland runners up and The Red Rose Rockets from Clifton Primary School, Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire.

This year’s search for the best young engineering talent in the UK took the judges around the country with 11 regional finals and around 2000 students participating in the Challenge which aims to encourage students to consider engineering as a career choice.

Andrew Denford, Founder and Chairman of the F1 in Schools Technology Challenge said of this year’s National Finals, “Every year the standard gets higher, the students produce more sophisticated designs and presentations and show tremendous engineering understanding, at a very early age. Their knowledge and experience of using advanced CAD software will undoubtedly give them a head start for an engineering-based career.

“F1 in Schools showcases the prospective engineering talent that we have in this country. By nurturing it with programmes such as this, we can sustain the UK engineering industry and hopefully we’re also seeing the next generation of Formula One designers in this Technology Challenge; youngsters to follow in the footsteps of successful industry personalities such as Ross Brawn, Adrian Newey, Mike Gascoyne and the other technical directors in Formula One.”

The F1 in Schools competition challenges students to design, construct and race a Formula 1 car of the future, made from a block of balsa wood, and powered by a CO2 (carbon dioxide) gas canister. The car is raced over a miniature two lane track and the fastest time is recorded.

Aside from the on-track action, teams also produce supporting evidence of their design, develop a sponsorship and marketing campaign and create team merchandise, with all these elements the team originally presented with their car in front of a panel of judges at the regional finals. The winning team from each age category then won their place at the national finals, where the level of competition steps up a notch.

The Challenge, in its eighth year, was introduced to the UK in 2000 and since this time has expanded to 29 countries, with over 7 million students taking part around the globe. Bernie Ecclestone, President and CEO of Formula One Management gave his support to F1 in Schools by granting the challenge a world-wide protected trademark and a new logo in 2005. Since this time the initiative has built close links with teams and personalities within Formula One.

F1 in Schools is regarded by the Formula One fraternity as a platform for introducing Formula One to a global teen demographic. The student challenge is also helping Formula One shed its image as an elitist sport accessible only to multi-million pound budgets; on the contrary, F1 in Schools is open to any school with access to a simple computer.

The National Finals take place with the assistance of a host of sponsors and supporters. Amongst these are the IET, Make Your Mark, Jaguar, Silverstone Circuit, Denford, City University London, RAE, SEMTA, and KHP Consulting, all of whom are continuing their support of F1 in Schools for the coming year.

F1 in Schools World Championships 2008

Photograph shows (left to right): Dato Sri Hishammuddin Hussein, Minister of Education Malaysia, Andrew Denford, Founder and Chairman, F1 in Schools, Data'Hj Abd Halim Bin Hj Abdul Samad, Organising Chairman F1 in Schools Sdn Bhd and Dato' Hajjah Noorezan Bt Bapoo Hashim, Deputy Director General MOE.

F1 IN SCHOOLS REVS UP FOR 2008 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN MALAYSIA

F1 in Schools is delighted to announce that Malaysia has won the race for the right to host the 2008 F1 in Schools World Championships following the nation's unprecedented success in the last three events. The Ministry of Education, Malaysia, made a comprehensive case to hold the Championships during the week leading up to the Formula One Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit in March 2008 and F1 in Schools was impressed with the country's commitment to the programme.

The aim of F1 in Schools is to encourage students to consider engineering as a career, highlighting the positive nature of all that embraces engineering in a fun and positive way. The challenge is for school children aged 11 to 18 to use CAD/CAM software to design, analyse, manufacture, test and race a 20^th scale model F1 car made from balsa wood and powered by CO₂ cylinders.

F1 in Schools Ltd has announced that the 2008 World Championships will take place in the 5* Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 18^th to 20^th of March 2008. There are presently a total of 25 teams representing their countries due to attend the fourth year of this International event as they compete to win the Bernie Ecclestone World Championship Trophy and an Automotive Engineering scholarship at The City University, London.

In 2007 the World Championships were held in Melbourne, Australia and the victors were Team Fuga, from Northern Ireland. They set a new world speed record of 1.020 seconds down the 20-metre race track, at a scale speed of over 220 mph per hour and have confirmed they will return next year to defend their title. The runners-up were the all-girl trio from Scotland, Team Lightning, followed by another all-girl team in third place, Mercurial Ace from Malaysia. The world record set in 2006 by Malaysia was broken no less than nine times over the four days!

Following formal discussions and an exchange of documents between the Minister of Education, Dato Sri Hishammuddin Hussein and F1 in Schools Ltd, Founder and Chairman, Andrew Denford, commented on his delight that they would be heading to Malaysia for the World Finals; "The F1 in Schools World Championship was an amazing success last year in Australia, and has since spread globally to over 26 countries. Malaysia is the first country to adopt F1 in Schools into the national curriculum and new initiatives in teaching and learning. Next year at our annual event in Malaysia we hope for an even greater level of competition between the teams. F1 in Schools continues to be a great way of encouraging young people to enjoy engineering and design."

The Minister commented: "We are honoured that F1 in Schools has chosen Malaysia as the host of the world finals. Malaysia is a growing motorsport nation, and we hope that having such a high profile, youth orientated, motorsport event in Malaysia, alongside our Grand Prix weekend will generate widespread interest both locally and in other Asian countries and showcase the educational and ICT initiatives we are developing within our country."

F1 in Schools operates in 26 countries across the globe, with over 7 million school children participating in the competition. The 2008 World Championship will have the support of a host of companies, together with recognition from all the Formula One teams and its Patrons.

Following on from the event all participants will have the chance to enjoy three days of fun at the Formula One Grand Prix, brushing shoulders with drivers, senior engineers and VIP guests along with a packed itinerary of fun activities at the hotel water park.

Ends.

For further information on F1 in Schools visit: www.F1inSchools.com

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