Recently, at the inaugural FIA Women in Motorsport National Coordinators’ seminar, held in Paris, a winning team from this year’s F1 in Schools competition addressed conference attendees and discussed ways of improving access to motorsport opportunities for women.
The three 14-year-old girls from Team Adrenaline, a team from the UK National Finals, were invited to speak about their experience with FIA representatives from 47 countries. The trio gave an informative, well-rehearsed presentation, which explained the value of the F1 in Schools program, as well as challenging the audience into future action and support, particularly promoting interest and careers in STEM education to female students at an early age.
The students also attended presentations by other speakers at the seminar, which gave them further insight into the opportunities for women in motorsport. “The presentations were professional, educational and inspirational; I cannot wait to be like them in the future,” said Team Adrenaline member Holly Kinsey. “It boosted my passion to follow engineering and it is all thanks to the experience of F1 in Schools that I have found my career path.”
F1 in Schools aims to help change perceptions of engineering, science and technology by creating a fun and exciting learning environment for young people to develop an informed view about careers in STEM disciplines. Students are given rules to design a model compressed-powered Formula One car, which they manufacture using a CNC machine. 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 then raced on a specially designed test track. At the National Finals stage each team takes along a pit display, their cars and portfolio, as well as having prepared a presentation for the judges.
