Chair of Judges Gary Anderson in discussion with F1 in Schools World Finalists
Gary Anderson, one of Formula 1™’s most prolific engineers, returns as Chair of Judges at the prestigious annual F1 in Schools™ World Finals, readying his marking sheet for the 2011 event to be held next week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This much-loved personality of the pitlane is passionate about this global educational initiative and believes that among the students there will be the next Adrian Newey. Anderson’s contribution is significant; he brings three decades of experience within Formula 1, understanding the attributes and skills needed to succeed in top level motorsport.
Anderson became involved with F1 in Schools last year, taking on the unenviable task of Chair of Judges and quickly making it his own, putting the students at ease so that he could get the best from them, resolving technical regulation queries with diplomacy and ensuring fair play in every element of the judging process. He says of the task, “There are so many elements to the judging – it’s not just the car design – so it is quite difficult. But that’s not dissimilar to Formula 1 itself, you need to get everything right to succeed, from the financing and marketing through to the car design and manufacturing.”
The standards of work presented to the team of 30 judges by the 23 teams of students, ranging in age from 14 to 19 years and representing 17 nations, is consistently high and as Anderson notes, “these students have grasped complex subjects with incredible detail”. He is particularly impressed with the commitment that the students have for the project, saying, “the amount of work that these teams put into the competition is phenomenal and their determination to take on the challenge is amazing, it takes over their life. It can be cross-referenced to Formula 1 where everyone within the sport is totally committed, living and breathing it. It’s great to see the students get so engrossed and passionate. They are all winners to me.”
The affable Irishman sees F1 in Schools playing an important role in providing future generations of engineers, enthusing, “it’s this type of environment which breeds the future top technical directors, with its focus on achieving results in a complex engineering challenge. F1 needs the calibre of people that we’re seeing at an early stage of their career in F1 in Schools we’ve already seen past competitors move into F1. “F1 is very tough to get into”, says Anderson, “and it’s not just qualifications you need, the door needs to be open, whether you are an engineer or a driver. You need the skills and to believe in yourself, but you must also have something to sell. F1 in Schools is gaining recognition and will help a student to stand out from peers and increase their chances of entry into a very competitive environment.”
Anderson envies the opportunity the students have in school today, contrasting it to his experience, where his route to putting engineering learning into practice was to work on the lighting and stage sets for the school pantomime. “Without a doubt I would have been up for the challenge presented by F1 in Schools if it had been offered when I was at school”, he says. “We didn’t have the sort of equipment that these students have access to, but I know if I’d been given the chance I’d have been designing and building my own model race car for this competition.”
The 2011 F1 in Schools World Finals Chair of Judges is eager to see the new crop of students competing at the World Finals. “Whatever country they have come from, whatever environment they learn in, they all have the same goal which is to be as successful as they can in rising to the challenge presented by F1 in Schools. I’m sure I’ll see some very innovative designs, some creative approaches to team marketing and graphic displays, some very advanced thinking behind the engineering of the cars, but I know I will see total dedication and passion from every single one of the students and that’s what makes this so special.”
The essence of the F1 in Schools challenge is for teams of students to research, design, test, manufacture and race a miniature Formula One car, using some of the advanced technology employed within the F1 teams in the real world. All the teams competing next week will have spent hundreds of hours producing their models in their pursuit of beating their competitors to claim the World Champions crown.
The event takes place at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 19th – 21st September with the assistance of a host of sponsors and supporters including the Malaysian Ministry of Education, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, City University London, Denford Limited, Sepang International Circuit and Hilton Racing.
About F1 in Schools
F1 in Schools is the only global multi-disciplinary challenge for students aged 9 to 19. The founding constitution of F1 in Schools stipulates that it shall remain a not-for-profit organisation. Based in London and supported by the Institute of Engineering and Technology, funds are raised through sponsorship and invested in administering, developing and expanding the challenge. The competition inspires students to use IT to learn about physics, aerodynamics, design, manufacturing, branding, graphics, sponsorship, marketing, leadership, teamwork, media skills and financial strategy, and apply them in a practical, imaginative and exciting way.
F1 in Schools challenges students to use software to design, build and race a miniature Formula 1 car made from balsa wood and powered by a single compressed air cylinder. Participating teams all receive a starter kit that includes all basic materials, including a block of balsa wood from which their car will be fabricated. They write a business plan, prepare a budget and raise sponsorship through cooperation with the business community. Using CAD (Computer Aided Design) technology, the teams design a Formula 1 car before analysing its efficiency in a virtual reality wind tunnel.
The cars are then fabricated with the use of CAM (Computer Aided Manufacture) software before being tested in wind and smoke tunnels. The final part of the challenge is the race, with teams competing along a special 20-metre straight track. The cars must cover the distance as quickly as possible – the current record is just 1.020 seconds! Each school finds its own winning team and they then move to regional, national and international competition at the F1 in Schools World Finals. The overall winners will receive the Bernie Ecclestone F1 in Schools World Champions trophy at the World Finals in Malaysia. All members of the winning team will also receive a four-year university scholarship.
