Victorian students vying for success in the F1 in Schools World Finals

The State is represented by Kyabram P-12 College from regional Victoria and Trinity Grammar from Melbourne after they won the wild card at the national finals in Australia. Their success in the national competition earned them the right to collaborate as 'Team Spectra' against other students from around the world at the World Finals being fought out at the Yas Marina Circuit and Ferrari World, Abu Dhabi.

The competition is fierce, with 'Team Spectra' from Victoria finishing seventh out of 33 teams in the opening trials and hoping to step it up a gear on the final day on Wednesday, October 31.

"We will be watching their progress closely and we wish them the very best of luck as the competition moves into its final stages," said John Butler, Commissioner to the Middle East and North Africa for the State Government of Victoria, which helped to partly fund the students' participation in the competition.

"This is a wonderful way to get the students interested in F1 and the mechanics behind the sport, whilst also providing an important educational stream that is fun and exciting. Australia has done well in the competition in the past and I'm sure the team from Victoria will do us proud once again."

F1 in Schools aims to help change perceptions of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) by creating a learning environment for young people to develop an informed view about careers in engineering, Formula One, science, marketing and technology. The educational initiative, which takes place in over 40 countries, sees students use CAD/CAM software to design, build and test a balsawood model F1 car of the future, powered by CO2 (carbon dioxide).

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 brings along a pit display, their cars and portfolio, as well as having prepared a verbal presentation for the judges.