Students at Kimbolton School are celebrating their first podium finish in the national finals of the F1 in Schools racing car contest.

The sixth form DTE students also drove off with the much sought after award for the best engineered car and were nominated for the portfolio award in the event which had been put off from April.

Kimbolton’s Nova Racing team - Molly, Charles, Ewan, Libby, Joseph and Hannah – qualified for the national contest after winning the East Anglia regional final back in January, completing a hat-trick for the school with teams winning the regional stage three years in a row having first entered the competition in 2018.

The F1 in Schools challenge involves teams from schools across the UK, and in over 40 countries around the world, using computer aided 3-D design, to test, engineer, manufacture and race miniature compressed air-powered balsa wood F1 cars.

And just like in real motorsport, teams also had to raise sponsorship and manage budgets to fund their research, travel and accommodation.

DTE teacher Mr Nick Ellis said: “This is the first time Kimbolton has achieved a national podium finish – for Nova Racing to get second place in the country is a phenomenal achievement.

“F1 in Schools is a great opportunity for our L6th Form students to learn about STEM-related subjects and gives them a head start in the world of design and engineering. We already have three new teams revving up for the 2021 season.”

In the national final, Nova Racing impressed judges with their 11-page design & engineering portfolio, use of CAD/CAM technologies and the quality of manufacture of both cars submitted.

Award sponsor Mike Westlake, Autodesk Global Strategy Manager, said: “Every year the standard of design and manufacture increases and just gets better and better. This year was no exception.”