Getting Started

The Challenge:

You and your friends are a Formula One team, challenged to design, build and race the fastest and most-efficient Formula One car of the future, powered by compressed gas cylinders. You'll need to raise sponsorship to fund your development, manage your brand and partnerships, learn how to build and test prototype cars, analyse their performance and ultimately race your very own car. Keep an eye on the competition, work hard and build quickly and you could represent Ireland at the F1 in Schools World Finals.

How do I start?

Form a team of 3-6 secondary school students alongside a supervising teacher, parent or guardian. Make sure to read the Competition and Technical Regulations so you know how to win marks, and how to build your car. Let your supervising adult read the Teachers' Guide to help mentor your progress. Then, get started on designing your car, building your brand and documenting your progress! Finally, make sure you register before the 22nd of October 2021.

How does the competition work?

F1 in Schools operates at Regional, National and International levels. The competition includes four distinct stages:

Qualifying Round - 5 Page Plan Submission (online only submission of 5 page season plan in December)
Regional Finals (qualifying teams participate in in-person Regional Finals in February and March)
National Final (the top 5 teams from each Regional Final progress to compete at the National Final)
World Finals (the Irish National Champions, runners up, and third placed team compete at the World Finals as Team Ireland. Our fourth placed team becomes an International Collaboration partner at the finals.)

What will I be judged on?

F1 in Schools is a multidisciplinary competition that is judged across multiple categories. These include:

Racing (time trials and a knockout cup)
Scrutineering (does your car meet the regulations?)
Engineering Portfolio (your chance to show us your technical work)
Enterprise Portfolio (describe your sponsor strategy, team management and branding)
Verbal Presentation (impress the judges with your team spirit and innovation)
Pit Display (a physical display stand where you host your judging teams - display your branding here!)
Social Media and Marketing Plan (how do you reach fans?)

Judging for each category takes place at each finals event. At the end of the day, all scores are calculated and the winning teams are announced on the day.

What will I learn?

F1 in Schools helps students develop fundamental engineering, entrepreneurship, business and team management skills. Some of our alumni have founded startups, work in cutting edge engineering roles, and some have even made it all the way to working in F1!

Where can I find out more information?

The F1 in Schools Ireland website has loads of resources to help you get started - try our alumni Masterclass Videos and our Downloads page for more.

Why should I try F1 in Schools?

F1 in Schools is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for secondary school students. Learn key engineering skills, meet loads of new people at our Finals events, and maybe even make it all the way to the World Finals!

Form a team

Form a team of 3 – 6, think of a name, decide job roles; Team Manager, Manufacturing Engineer, Design Engineer, Graphic Designer and Resource Manager. Now register for regional finals.

Manufacture

Using 3D CAM (Computer Aided Manufacture) software, the team evaluates the most efficient machining strategy to make the car.

Engineering Judging

Judges question teams on how their cars has been manufactured and why particular designs were chosen.

Business and Sponsorship

Plan and prepare a business plan, develop a budget and raise sponsorship. Teams are encouraged to collaborate with industry and create business links.

Test

Aerodynamics can be tested in wind and smoke tunnels.

Verbal Presentation

Prepare a presentation to perform to a panel of judges covering all aspects of the challenge. This will be completed within a set time limit.

Design

Using 3D CAD (Computer Aided Design) software, design an F1 car of the future to the specifications set by the International Rules Committee just like in Formula 1.

Pit Display

Put together an informative display showing your work through all stages of the project. Think about your team identity.

Portfolio Judging

Put together two 10 page A3 portfolios, one enterprise portfolio (documenting your buisness strategy) and one engineering portfolio (documenting the design & construction of your car).

Analyse

Aerodynamics are analysed for drag coefficiency in a virtual wind tunnel using Computational Fluid Dynamics Software (CFD).

Scrutineering

Cars are submitted to Parc Ferme where the judges scrutinize every dimension to check they comply with the Rules and Regulations.

Race

Time to track test what your team has worked so hard together to achieve a winning car.