Germany/USA Collaboration Team Crowned F1 In Schools World Champions 2015

F1 in Schools championship

Union Racing International, an F1 in Schools collaboration team representing Germany and USA, made F1 in Schools history today when they were crowned F1 in Schools World Champions 2015, the first time that a collaboration team has achieved the ultimate accolade of this global education initiative.

The team also put their name in the record books when they broke the F1 in Schools track record, taking it under one second for the first time, with their car recording a time of 0.959 seconds in its fastest race.

Presented with the coveted Bernie Ecclestone trophy at the F1 in Schools World Finals award celebrations dinner, the team of six 15-18 year old boys from Alexander-von-Humboldt Gymnasium, Greifswald in Germany and Lexington High School, Massachusetts in the USA, triumphed over 46 other teams, in an intense competition. In addition to the glass trophy, they receive City University London and University College London Engineering scholarships and a VIP paddock tour at the 2015 FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX.

The team’s outstanding track performance was rewarded with the team winning Fastest Car Award. With top marks overall, they also collected the Best International Collaboration Award and won the Knockout Racing Award, after beating Mustangs from Portugal in the final, held at the Awards Celebration Dinner.

George Britton, 18, Team Manager, twin brother, Max Britton, Resource Manager; and Yang Lu, 16, Design Engineer, from the USA united with Kasper Sunn Pedersen, 16, Sponsoring Manager; Christian Kruger, 16, Graphic designer and Devansh Dhard, 15, Constructor from Germany to form the winning team.

George said of Union Racing International lifting the Bernie Ecclestone World Champions trophy, “it’s been a great night for the team. It’s amazing and it’s been great to bond with our team over the past week and I think our awards show just how much work we’ve put into this. It’s been difficult working together without having met, not being able to see face to face, the main thing we struggled with is agreeing on things, but after we figured that out it was fine."

Three team members, Devanish, George and Max were also successful in the final assessments for the Randstad Williams Engineering Academy, securing three of the 11 places offered to F1 in Schools World Finals 2015 students.

The Awards Celebration Dinner featured 21 awards, with each award being presented by local, F1 and engineering institution personalities. The man behind the successful initiative, Andrew Denford, Founder and Chairman, F1 in Schools added, “We’ve had a fantastic World Finals this year. Union Racing International, breaking the world record, not once but five times was impressive enough, but having a collaboration team take the title makes it even more special. The standard of work achieved by every team has been outstanding and it blows me away with the depth of engineering knowledge, the innovations developed by the students and their passion for F1 in Schools.

“We introduced LERS (Launch Energy Recovery System) this year and that has added a new dimension to the challenge for the World Finals, adds Andrew. “It links closely with similar technological advances that are seen in F1 with the different solutions employed by the teams to address these. It certainly spiced up the racing as well."

Leaping onto the second step of the podium were Mustangs, a team of four girls and boys from Portugal, the first time that this country has featured on a World Finals podium. Joining Union Racing International and Mustangs on the stage were third placed team AIB Racing from Ireland.

F1 in Schools challenges students to create their own Formula One team which is commissioned to design, construct and race the fastest miniature Formula One Car of the Future; a 21cm long scale model built from a modelling block and powered by a compressed air cylinder. Each team of between three and six students creates a ‘pit’ display and showcases their work in developing their race car. At the World Finals each team brings 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 around one second.

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.

The F1 in Schools World Finals 2015 take place with the assistance of a host of supporters including Formula One Management, Singapore GP, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, Autodesk, Singapore Tourism Board, City University London, UCL Engineering, Luke 1977 and the Official Venue, Resorts World Sentosa.

Full list of winners:

Category	Supported By	Winner	Country
World Champions	Formula One Management, City University London and University College London Engineering	Union Racing International	Germany & USA
2nd Place	Singapore GP	Mustangs	Portugal
3rd Place	The Institute of Engineering & Technology	–	–
(IET)	Team AIB Racing	Ireland	–
The Best International Collaboration Team Award	Shell	Union Racing International	Germany & USA
Best Newcomer Award	Sauber F1 Team	Team Helios	Vietnam
Best Engineered Car Award	McLaren Honda	Laminar Racing	Canada
Team Sponsorship & Marketing Award	Manor F1 Team	Tachyon	Wales
Innovative Thinking Award	Lotus F1 Team	Zero Gravity Team	Cyprus
Chair of Judges Recognition of Achievement Award	Infiniti Red Bull Racing	Triumph	China
Fastest Car Award	Mercedes AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team	Union Racing International	Germany & USA
Team Identity Award	Scuderia Ferrari	Pact Racing	Germany & Ireland
Outstanding Sportsmanship Award	Sahara Force India F1 Team	Nova F1 Racing Team	Malaysia
Pit Display Award	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Team AIB Racing	Ireland
Verbal Presentation Award	Williams Racing	Vast Velocity	Germany
Enterprise Portfolio Award	Mastereign Enrichment Group	Mustangs	Portugal
Research and Development Award	Pirelli	Laminar Racing	Canada
Best Use of Social Media Award	ID PR and Marketing	Verus Racing	Ireland
Knock out Competition Winners	Resorts World Sentosa	Union Racing International	Germany & USA
Sutton Images Image of the week award	Sutton Images	Project Driven	United Arab Emirates & Qatar
Team Website Award	Fantastic Media	Zero Gravity Team	Cyprus
FIA Women in Motorsport Award	FIA Women in Motorsport Commission	Team equiNOX	Singapore