Ginetta backs F1 Schools competition

Yorkshire race car manufacturer, Ginetta, is supporting young engineers of the future by sponsoring a team in the annual Formula 1 in Schools competition.

Ginetta will be sponsoring a team of five students aged between 16 and 17 from St Peter’s School in York. The competition is a chance for passionate young engineers and entrepreneurs to design and manufacture a miniature F1 car to race against other school teams around the world.

St Peter’s first entered the competition in 2016 and managed to reach the national finals at Silverstone, briefly holding the national record over the 20m track before losing out by just 0.003 seconds.

Team manager of the ‘Ginetta Racing’ team from St Peter’s, Pierre Herrenschmidt, believes that they can top that result this year with the help of Ginetta. He said, ‘The Formula 1 in Schools competition is very beneficial to students to give them a real insight into how rewarding a career in engineering could be and there have been many success stories from former entries. Having Ginetta on board this year is extremely exciting and motivating for us all and I’m sure it will give our team the best chance of winning.’

The competition is close to the heart of Ginetta owner and racing driver, Lawrence Tomlinson, who himself has an engineering background and is keen to encourage young people to take engineering career choices.

Lawrence said, ‘The UK has a history of creating exceptional automotive engineers. Getting young people excited about engineering, and all the career options it offers them, through platforms like Formula 1 in schools, is vital for the industry’s future prosperity.

‘British motorsport is entering an exciting period with lots of new innovations and international opportunities, so we need to fresh, young talent to keep our pioneering edge. I am therefore delighted that Ginetta is supporting Formula 1 schools at St Peter’s and wish ‘Ginetta Racing’ team the best.’

The Formula 1 in Schools competition is supported by Bernie Ecclestone and offers a way to teach young people science, technology, engineering and maths related subjects in an exciting way to drive the number of students pursing these careers. As well as designing and making the race car, students are required to prepare business plans and handle budgets prior to the regional finals in February 2018.