After an incredible victory at the West Midlands Regional Finals, Chimera Racing secured a place at the UK National Finals of F1 in Schools. With just three weeks to refine their designs, perfect their presentations, and prepare for the big stage, the team faced immense challenges – but their dedication, teamwork and passion for engineering pushed them forward.
Read on for a firsthand account from one of the team members, detailing their journey, the highs and lows of competition, and the unforgettable experience of competing on a national stage.
After our victory at the West Midlands Regional Finals, Chimera Racing – a team comprised of Aadi, Adi, Raghav, Rishit, Theo, and I – secured a place in the UK National Finals of F1 in Schools. With just three weeks to prepare, we had to refine our car’s design and aerodynamics, polish our formal portfolios, and double our verbal presentation time from five to ten minutes. Balancing all of this alongside schoolwork was not an easy task, but our passion for engineering and the competition kept us going.
Aadi, our CAD Engineer, worked closely with Rishit, our Design Engineer, to enhance the car’s aerodynamics, ensuring it was lighter, faster and more aerodynamic. Rishit also led the Design Portfolio, showcasing the engineering and inspiration behind our innovations. Theo, our CFD Engineer, not only handled Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations to make our car more aerodynamic, but also performed Finite Element Analysis (FEA) – something so advanced that someone representing ANSYS (the professional software we used) came to our pit display and took pictures of our portfolio, explaining that FEA is currently a final-year engineering topic and only now are they trying to introduce it into earlier university years. Seeing secondary school pupils do this kind of work was something completely unexpected.
While our design was being perfected, Raghav, our Manufacturing Engineer, was hard at work bringing it to life. His precision in creating the final cars ensured that all the design improvements were translated into reality. He also took on the challenge of building our pit display, ensuring that it was professional, impactful and reflected our identity as a team.
Adi, our Finance, Sponsorship, and Marketing lead, played an equally critical role behind the scenes. Without sponsorships and funding, none of this would have been possible, and Adi worked tirelessly to secure financial backing, manage our budget, and ensure we had enough money to purchase the resources we needed. His efforts meant that we could focus on engineering, knowing that the logistics were in good hands.
Managing all of this in just three weeks was no easy task – there were plenty of ups and downs, but the team’s dedication made it possible. The level of skill, commitment, and passion each person brought to their role made the challenge easier to handle, and seeing everything come together at nationals was a testament to the hard work and resilience of every team member.
Arriving at the National Final was an unforgettable experience. The scale of the competition was incredible, with teams from across the UK showcasing their innovations and designs. Setting up our pit display, preparing for our engineering and enterprise judging, and making last-minute adjustments to our verbal presentation made for a hectic first day, but we pushed through the challenges. Presenting in front of industry professionals was a daunting but rewarding experience, and seeing our hard work come to life in the actual racing of the car, and watching the 3D-rendered video (check it out above!) was a moment of real pride. Competing at nationals was about more than just racing; it was a test of teamwork, problem-solving, and creativity, and it pushed us to new limits. A highlight was our interview with Ratzi from Blue Peter, which was live-streamed on YouTube!
But none of this would have been possible without the support we received. Mr Dawson was an immense help throughout, from refining our car design to assisting with our pit display and materials, and his guidance was invaluable both before and after regionals. Mr Pavey accompanied us to Nationals, helping us set up and offering support throughout the event. Mr Balkham played a crucial role in handling logistics, writing letters to our parents, helping us order materials, and most importantly, making it possible for us to compete in the first place! The previous Chimera Racing team, especially Han, provided us with incredible advice and support, helping us understand and overcome the challenges of the competition.
Out of 458 teams across the UK, we secured an impressive 25th place.Though nationals marked the end of our F1inSchools competition, the experience has pushed us to keep improving. We’ve gained valuable skills, built strong friendships, and faced challenges we never expected.
Have a look on our Instagram: @chimeraracing22 – it’s been an unforgettable experience!
Mufaddal (Divs)
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