Children Race in Customised F1 Cars to Raise Awareness about Electric Vehicles in Spain

Formula car races are fun to watch but they are also notoriously emission-heavy with Formula 1 adding over 250,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide in a single year (2018). But that doesn’t mean all formula races have to be bad for the environment, in fact, some can be beneficial for our dear planet. As recently seen in a very inspiring race in Spain where school children participated in a race-inspired by the Formula races to raise awareness about environmental benefits of electric cars.

In a video shared by Reuters, a very interesting race took place in Spain. “Schoolchildren raced customized Formula 24 and Formula 24+ electric cars in Spain to raise awareness about alternative energy sources, climate change and pollution issues,” the agency wrote in the caption.

The material and basic equipment needed to customize these Formula 24 and Formula 24+ electric cars was provided to the school by Greenpower Iberia, the Spanish wing of the UK-based educational trust. The schoolchildren then used the gear and help from various mentors to modify their vehicles to create green-race cars which are good for the environment. However, the concept, design, and labour—all was done by the children themselves.

The challenge here was to optimise the design so that their battery lasts as long as possible. Utilising their battery power to full efficiency, each team had to make multiple rounds of the racetrack without powering up for full 90 minutes. The team to complete the highest number of laps would win.

A student-racer, Alberto Castillo, told the agency how useful such races can be for the overall development of the students. “Apart from being fun and interesting, you can learn mechanics, electrics and then you compete. You learn things from the realm of engineering, more things for the future,” he said.

The project first started in the 1990s in the United Kingdom. It was conceived as a way to encourage and support science and STEM subjects among students. Additionally, the foundation works on raising awareness about the environmental damage caused by fossil power and promotes use of alternative energy sources.