13 November 2010 Von: formula1.com

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa faced stiff competition when he took on UAE students from Team Impulse on the F1 in Schools track at the Mubadala Experience. F1 in Schools, a global educational initiative which operates in 34 countries, is being showcased in a number of different locations in Abu Dhabi as part of the build-up to this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Mubadala, partners of the programme in the UAE, has an F1 in Schools track and display at the F1 Fanzone, located on the Corniche. Abu Dhabi International Airport is also hosting a track, which allows overseas visitors arriving for the Grand Prix to try their hand at racing the scale model F1 cars designed and built by UAE students. And there is also a 20-metre track at the Yas Marina Circuit itself.

All three have been designed to give young fans an opportunity to learn more about the F1 in Schools programme, highlighting the educational benefits and the fun of taking part in this student programme open to all students in the UAE.

“This year’s Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has been a focus for promoting the UAE F1 in Schools programme to a wide audience, targeting local students who can enjoy participating in the programme and reap the benefits of this exciting Formula One-linked educational initiative,” said Andrew Denford, founder and chairman of F1 in Schools.

“It’s great to see Felipe Massa having a first-hand experience of the F1 in Schools challenge at the Mubadala Experience and he is just one of thousands of people who will be racing the F1 in Schools race cars this weekend. Abu Dhabi has been very proactive in its approach to promoting the F1 in Schools programme in the UAE and I’m sure there won’t be any young F1 fans who haven’t seen, heard about or read about the initiative by the end of the weekend!”

F1 in Schools challenges students to design, build, test, analyse, and race a scale model Formula One car of the future, using CAD/CAM technology. Each team of between three and six students brings together their 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 20 metre track. At the recent World Finals held in Singapore, the UAE was represented by two teams, Team Impulse and Zero.9.

Each team brought along a pit display, their cars and portfolio, as well as having prepared a presentation for the judges. Over three intense days of competition, Team Impulse and Zero.9 competed against the best F1 in Schools teams from around the world. A prestigious awards ceremony attended by many F1 personalities was the final event of the week, with Team Zero.9 finishing overall runners-up and Team Impulse taking home the outstanding sportsmanship award.