The final day of competition in the F1 in Schools World Finals 2016 featured the popular Knockout Racing Competition. After four rounds of tense racing, it was two teams from Greece that won through to the finals. The two teams, Aeolous Racing from Athens and Infinite Racing from Thessaloniki, beat the grid of F1 in Schools World Finals and will take centre stage this evening for the Final races to be crowned Knockout Competition winners.

The Knockout Racing is the final phase of the F1 in Schools World Finals, with the teams having completed time trials, reaction racing, verbal presentation, portfolio, pit display, design and engineering judging. Favourite to win the racing was the team that has set the fastest track time, Infinitude from Australia. However the car proved to be struggling with the pressure of the competition and when the final four races were run without LERS, the teams from Greece proved the quickest of the field.

Andreas Papamavros from Infinite Racing said of their success, “When we were using the LERS we didn’t think we could win, but without it, we knew that there was a chance. We’re very proud to be in the final and whatever the result, we know that Greece will win.”

Emmanouil Vlassis from Aeolous Racing added, “We are a team, we worked hard, we prepared hard for the reaction time. We raced quick in our Nationals and we’re from Greece, so even if we don’t win, we will be happy for Greece to win.”

The final of the competition, with Infinite Racing and Aeolous Racing battling for the Knockout Competition Winners Trophy supported by Haas F1, will take place at the start of Awards Celebration Gala Dinner held this evening in the Hyatt Regency Hotel Ballroom, the traditional finale of the F1 in Schools World Finals, with over 500 guests from the Formula 1 paddock joining the teams for the announcement of the category award winners and the crowning of the F1 in Schools World Champions 2016.

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 the F1 in Schools 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 metre track, with the cars covering the distance in around one second.

The 2016 World Finals is being held from 16th to 19th October at Hyatt Regency Hotel in Austin, Texas, USA with three days of intense competition between 39 teams from 23 countries. After all their hard work the students will be rewarded with a trip to Circuit Of The Americas on Thursday for a pit lane walk and the opportunity to attend the 2016 FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX. 

The F1 in Schools World Finals 2016 takes place with the assistance of a host of supporters including Formula One Management, Circuit Of The Americas, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, Autodesk, City University London and UCL Engineering.