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.