F1 Thrill for RGS Engineers at Williams Racing
Last Friday, Year Nine engineers travelled to Oxford and spent the day at the Formula 1 (F1) team Williams Racing. The 39 RGS pupils were quickly put through their paces as they had to programme Lego Mindstorm autonomous vehicles to negotiate various F1 circuits. Within their groups, they also had to present a team logo and car design, amongst other tasks. It was great to see the pupils so enthused and working together actively to solve problems under time pressure.
After a short break, half the group were given a guided tour around the Williams museum while the other half went to try their hand at race simulators, before changing over.
The museum had over 40 F1 cars dating from 1977 to the present day on display. The guide told stories of drivers and the team’s exploits while also sharing the engineering and science behind the cars. It was fantastic to be able to trace the changes across so many cars. It is believed that this is the largest private collection of F1 cars in the world, rivalled only by Ferrari! The group were treated to seeing the cars, helmets, memorabilia, and trophies of famous F1 drivers and former World Champions Damon Hill, Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna.
On the simulators, pupils were treated to an esports racing experience by being able to try their hand at racing, much like the professional esports competitors. Williams has a dedicated Esports team along with software engineers and data analysts. The data from the simulators was the same as from the real cars and so pupils were able to see first-hand not only the volume of data generated but the fine margins it takes to become the best.
RGS Alumni, Amy Murphy, who completed her A Levels in 2019, popped in to say hello and talk to the pupils. She has been working with Williams for the past two years on a wide array of different projects. Amy’s visit was the final highlight of a very memorable, engaging and exciting day of all things Engineering. Our very grateful thanks goes to Amy and Williams Racing for this amazing and inspiring opportunity.
Mr Gwilym Batchelder, Head of Design & Technology