ABU DHABI — F1 in Schools' eighth World Finals will be held in Abu Dhabi from Oct. 29-31, with this prestigious event coinciding with the run up to November's 2012 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Over 250 students from around the world will have secured a place at the F1 in Schools World Finals after winning the National Finals in their home countries. Yas Marina Circuit and Ferrari World Abu Dhabi will be the destination for the competitors and expectations are high for a closely fought title fight, as well as the event being the trip of a lifetime for all the students attending. Previous years' events held in Australia, England, Malaysia and Singapore have all been a resounding success and Abu Dhabi promises to be an outstanding venue for the World Finals of this global challenge with the event attracting a significant spectator following. Andrew Denford, Founder and Chairman, F1 in Schools, said: “Hosting the event just before a Grand Prix offers the students a chance to attend one of the most exciting, technologically innovative sporting events in the world.” The F1 in Schools program operates in over 40 countries. Each of the National Champions is invited to compete at the World Finals and runners-up are invited to participate by forming a collaboration team, linking with a runners-up team from another country. The collaboration teams communicate by virtual technologies such as CISCO WebEx before finally meeting each other for the first time when they arrive in Abu Dhabi. The F1 in Schools World Finals 2012 is held over the course of three days with the teams brought together for the biggest challenge of their life, competing for the prestigious Bernie Ecclestone World Champions trophy and coveted automotive and motorsport engineering scholarships to City University London. F1 in Schools aims to help change perceptions of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) by creating a fun and exciting learning environment for young people to develop an informed view about careers in engineering, Formula One, Science, marketing and technology. Students are given a brief to design a model compressed air powered F1 Car of the future using CAD/CAM Engineering techniques. Cars are then manufactured on a CNC machine. Each team of between three and six students brings together their portfolio of work to present to a judging panel with a verbal and written presentation to support their model car, which is raced on a specially designed test track. At the World Finals each team will bring along a pit display, their cars and portfolio, as well as having prepared a verbal presentation for the judges. The cars race on a 20-meter track, with the cars covering the distance in just over one second, a speed barrier which is yet to be broken by any student team since it was set by Team FUGA from Northern Ireland at the 2007 World Finals with a time of 1.020 seconds. The F1 in Schools World Finals take place with the assistance of a host of sponsors and supporters including Yas Marina Circuit, Ferrari World, Etihad Airways, The IET and City University London. — SG
