F1 in Schools
Team ‘evolut1on’ from Germany announced as Aramco F1 in Schools 2024 World Champions
Event is culmination of months and even years for teams from around the globe.
Team evolut1on from Karl-Maybach-Gymnasium in Germany captured top honors Nov. 26 at the Aramco F1 in Schools 2024 World Finals. The team of four students, aged 16 to 17, were awarded the prestigious title following a three-day competition against 54 other teams from 25 countries.
The 19th recipients of the title, evolut1on team members were presented with the accolade by Nabeel A. Al Jama’, Aramco’s executive vice president of HR and Corporate Services, on stage at a glittering awards ceremony at Dhahran Expo.
A panel of more than 60 industry, composed of professionals from a range of industries including STEM, marketing, motorsport, and education organizations, scored the competition, with evolut1on achieving the highest scores. The team received particular recognition for their performance in engineering becoming the recipients of the Research and Development award, sponsored by McLaren.
We really didn’t believe we would win. We’ve spent over two years working on this and put thousands of hours into it; it’s just amazing to have beaten all these other talented teams. We’re in shock at the moment; we just can’t quite believe it. I think it will take a while to sink in. The experience has been so special, and the hospitality in Saudi Arabia has been wonderful.
— Theo Paulsen, team manager for evolut1on
A champion meets the champions
Adding to the prestige of the occasion the students were honored to have two-time Formula 1 World Champion and Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team driver Fernando Alonso attend the awards ceremony. Alonso gave the students an insight into his career in a question-and-answer session and by meeting many of the teams in a tour of the pit displays.
Alonso then kicked-off the final races of the Knockout Competition and presented the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team-supported “Best Newcomer Award” to the winners, Agilas, from the Philippines.
Ten lucky students celebrated winning a coveted place in the Komatsu-Williams Engineering Academy, a global initiative designed to cultivate the next generation of engineering talent. The Academy’s first intake have been selected exclusively from this year’s World Finals students. By joining the Academy, students will gain invaluable experience and insights, benefiting from the combined expertise and resources of both Komatsu and Williams Racing.
The Aramco F1 in Schools World Champions title is highly recognized within the engineering and motorsport industries due to its rigorous judging criteria.
Encompassing design, engineering, project management, innovation, marketing, and presentation skills, the multi-disciplinary challenge requires students to demonstrate a high level of competence and expertise across a range of subject areas.
Many members of past teams who have secured the World Champions title have progressed to roles within F1 teams, including Lewis Fowler and George Stonor of 2019 winners, Evolve UK; Kyriakos Theofanidis of 2016 winners, Infinite Racing; and George and Max Britton of 2015 winners, Union Racing International, among others.
This year’s Aramco F1 in Schools World Finals was the first time the event has taken place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and has seen over 450 students and educators from 25 countries visit the Kingdom to compete.
Officially welcomed by the cultural partner, Ithra, on Saturday, students visited the famous center to gain insight into Saudi Arabian culture before the next day’s competition. The event concluded with students visiting Qatar ahead of the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix, for an exclusive pit lane walk at Lusail International Circuit.
This year’s Aramco F1 in Schools World Finals showcased just how much talent exists within this next generation of engineers and pioneers. Evolut1on did a phenomenal job to achieve the World Champions title. Having the event take place within our home country has made the event particularly special for Aramco as an organization, and it has been an honor and a delight to share our culture with these incredible young people.
— Khalid A. Al-Zamil, Aramco vice president of Public Affairs
Andrew Denford, founder and chairman of F1 in Schools, said that “evolut1on truly shone throughout the competition, and we are proud to announce that they are our new World Champions. The standard on show was incredibly high this year, so to beat 54 teams to the title is just a brilliant achievement, and we can’t wait to see what they go on to do next.”