Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Norbert Haug has agreed to become a patron of the F1 in Schools Challenge in Germany. Haug joins a roster of top Formula One names that already support the global educational initiative, including Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn, technical director of the new Lotus team Mike Gascoyne and Red Bull?s chief technical officer Adrian Newey.
?Formula One is a technically sophisticated sport which attracts highly qualified engineers who have a passion for motor racing,? said Haug. ?F1 in Schools is definitely a great initiative to motivate students to envisage an engineering career in Formula One. It is never too early to train in the basic skills you need if you want to become an engineer one day.?
The annual contest sees school children, aged 11 to 18, from over 30 countries use CAD/CAM software to design, analyse, manufacture, test and race their own miniature compressed air-powered balsa wood F1 car.
?F1 in Schools provides the ideal basis for young people worldwide to prove their engineering talents in a very competitive environment and lead them up to the technical side of Formula One in a way that is real fun,? continued Haug. ?I really appreciate the work that is done by F1 in Schools which also is of great social value.
?It is nice that F1 in Schools is also represented in Germany and that it is now in the fourth year of the challenge. I am happy to support Formel 1 in der Schule (F1 in Schools) as a patron and I wish the promoters, the young competitors and everybody involved in the project every success.?
F1 in Schools founder and chairman Andrew Denford added: ?We are very grateful to Norbert Haug for linking with F1 in Schools and in particular Formel 1 in der Schule, the challenge which takes place in Germany, just one of over 30 countries in which we operate.
?This comes at a very exciting time for Mercedes-Benz Motorsport and Formula One, with the manufacturer now having their own team, led by another of our patrons, Ross Brawn. Norbert has been involved in Formula One for over 15 years and has a great depth of knowledge and passion for the sport. We know that he will be inspirational to all the students who participate in our F1 in Schools programme and thank him for giving us his support.?
