Evolve UK, a team of 17 and 18 year old boys from Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Faversham, Kent, were crowned F1 in Schools World Champions 2019 on Wednesday, collecting four trophies and the prestigious title at a stunning Awards Celebration Ceremony held on Turn 1 under the iconic Shams Tower at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, just two days before Formula 1 cars take to same track for the    Etihad Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Runners up were Fusion from Gymnasium Unterrieden, Sindelfingen, Germany with Aflex Hose Centurion Racing from Rishworth School, Halifax, UK, in third, completing the podium.

Evolve UK, with team members George Stonor, Freddie Bull and Lewis Fowler collected awards for winning the Knockout Racing competition, Pit Display Award and Enterprise Portfolio Awards, before jumping on to the top step of the podium to claim the World Champions trophy, as fireworks lit up the sky to celebrate their success.

Two of the three boys applied for and won places in the Unilever Williams Engineering Academy (UWEA). Along with the World Champions title the boys have won scholarships to City, University of London, UCL Mechanical Engineering and University of Huddersfield. This weekend they will be treated to a F1 Experience track tour, paddock access for each day of the Grand Prix and a trophy presentation on the Formula 1 podium.

George Stonor said: “We came here hoping for a top ten finish and possibly an award, so to have won three awards was amazing, but to be World Champions is just so much more than we could have imagined.  

“We really didn’t think we could do it, especially with so many good teams, it’s just incredible. We’ve been devoted to this competition for so many years, it’s taken over our lives, but it’s been so worth it.”

The announcement of the UWEA students for 2019 was made during the Awards Ceremony. Academy application is exclusively for F1 in Schools World Finals students and is a proven pathway to a Formula 1 career.

A total of ten students have been selected to join the Academy that is designed to identify talented engineers.

The evening featured 21 awards, presented by representatives from award supporter companies and F1 personalities, including 2016 World Champion, Nico Rosberg, Al Tareq Al Ameri, CEO, Yas Marina Circuit and Formula 1 CEO, Chase Carey, with 15 teams, from Australia, US, Thailand, India, UK, Ireland, Germany, Brazil, China and Malaysia visiting the stage to receive them.

Andrew Denford, Founder and Chairman, F1 in Schools, said of this year’s competition: “What can I say, but just WOW! We had three really intense, exciting days of competition where all the students put their heart and soul into doing their best and showcasing their skills.

“We then round it off with the most amazing evening. An awards evening on the track at Yas Marina Circuit sounds insane, but we pulled it off with all our teams having the most fantastic celebration of the World Finals.”

This 15th World Finals is the pinnacle of F1 in Schools, drawing together the best F1 in Schools students from around the world to compete for the ultimate prize in this global competition, to be crowned F1 in Schools World Champions.