F1 in Schools teams get together for a VIP day

On Wednesday February 14, the three F1 in Schools teams sponsored by Circuit Paul Ricard met at Xtrem Park for a day of activities, advice and discovery.

After a theoretical reminder of the educational challenge by Frédérique Trouvé, President of F1 in Schools France, the three teams were able to discover different workshops.

In the F1 in Schools Center of Excellence at Xtrem Park, the students were able to practice race start, and understand the power and different mechanisms of these miniature F1 cars with Samir Ghali, the F1 in Schools Center of Excellence referent at the Circuit Paul Ricard.

While one team listened to Samir's advice, another listened to racing driver Antoine Leclerc's advice on the importance of the driver/engineer relationship in understanding the technological development of the car. The students listened attentively to his invaluable advice as a racing driver, and finished the workshop by testing the driving simulators at Xtrem Park under the watchful eye of Antoine Leclerc.

To conclude these workshops, the 3 teams took part in a Karting race and discovered the real sensations of driving. Each team completed several laps of the Circuit Paul Ricard karting track.

To kick off the afternoon, the students met Stéphane Clair, CEO of the Circuit Paul Ricard, before meeting Jean-Philippe Pelaprat, aerodynamic engineer at ORECA.

To round off the day, the three teams were given a guided tour of the Circuit Paul Ricard, including rarely-seen aspects of the circuit such as race direction and pit boxes, before discovering the view of the pit straight from the circuit's boxes.

Next step:

The Circuit Paul Ricard will welcome all the French teams on May 11 and 12, 2024 for the F1 in Schools National Final. The two best teams will have the chance to represent France at the World Final.