F1 In Schools National Final 2024

Our F1 In Schools team Prism Racing have been competing this week at the Lenovo UK National Final in Magna, Rotherham.

Magna was home to one of the traditional steelmaking industries of the area, but today hosts an amazing science adventure park, which the team had the opportunity to visit on the second day.

With 30 professional class teams from around the UK taking part, the level of excellence across the judging areas was very high. The three podium slots could have been filled by at least six of the teams and, just like in the real world of motor racing, it came down in the end to very fine margins.

The pit-stand plays a pivotal role in the competition, and is the team base during the competition. The professionally printed panels of Prism’s two-metre-long pit-stand drew a great deal of interest from the judges and the other teams. However, their latest car failed to live up to the speed achieved by the regional car, being a mere 0.15 of a second slower. Unfortunately, the additional weight from paint and filler had an undesirable effect on performance, although the car now looks silky smooth.

By the end of the first day, the boys had already realised that the high standard of work from more experienced teams meant they were out of contention for a podium finish; like most teams, they returned empty-handed due to the limited number of awards available.

All the team members were nevertheless excellent ambassadors for the School, receiving lots of praise and glowing comments from all those with whom they came into contact.