Blog

Students Visit Silverstone

November 30, 2023
By Mr. Roberts

14 Students From Three SMCC Racing Teams Had An Unforgettable Experience When They Visited The World Famous Silverstone Circuit. There Was Even A Surprise Visit From A Former Student.

In partnership with the Silverstone Museum, the students from years 9 and 10, competing in the Development Class of the 2023 F1 in Schools competition; were guests of a four hour educational visit as part of their research into what makes an F1 team work, the history and evolution of car design, aerodynamic technology and to get a feel of an actual F1 car, well parts of one that is. Upon arrival, after a smooth 3.5 hour drive, we were greeted by the Silverstone Museum welcome team tour guides. After some quick health and safety and general rules, we spent some time in the F1 shop admiring a worn Lewis Hamilton race jacket, frame, and signed, for only £5000!. Students bought some keyring souvernirs before heading down to the race track.

Down some steep stairs and to the left was Luffield Corner, a long sweeping right-hand bend where cars can reach over 180mph and is one of the popular overtaking corners on the circuit, due to the corner’s exit. Out on the track was a race day, with a large variety of GT cars hitting their top speeds around the corner. Students stood amazed at the designs and sounds of the cars and were reluctant to go to the next stage of the visit, to an old part of the track that was rerouted shortly after a driver accident in the tunnel. This old drainage tunnel at Becketts corner, was the reason why, in 1987, the circuit had to be reshaped to be safer as the driver Roberto Moreno, driving a March Leyland F1 car lost control, hit the barrier and was flipped upside down as he crashed into the tunnel. It took race marshalls several minutes to free him and he was miraculously unhurt. Now the tunnel is used for visitors walking between enclosures on race day, and there is a big murial with Lewis Hamilton’s face!

Heading inside we went to a corporate box alongside the track for a workshop on all things F1, and it was here that the students, and Museum staff, were treated to a visit from a former student. Ian Penny was a St. Mary’s student who returned as an IT technician for several years. He then applied for a similar role to Force India and was accepted for his dream job. moved down to Silverstone and built his career in F1 so that when Force India became Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One team (or just Aston Martin F1), he was given a role within a small team with an incredible responsibility, that the full IT system for Aston Martin F1 is fully operation track side, and is receiving telemetry data from the cars, and sending and receiving data to their team of analysis at their headquarters in Silverstone. It takes a full 30 minutes to get the system up and running and if he is late or if there is a fault, it could result in the drivers not getting out to qualify, which would cost the team a starting position and could potentialy damage the chance to earn driver and constructor points.

After holding pieces of Vettel’s car that came from a crash in a previous season, the students (and staff) sat down to eat lunch and fire questions at Ian. The highlights of the questions came from Runa who asked about women in F1, specifically are there many and is it hard to get into F1. The answer was simply no, it is not hard, and about 50% of the Aston Martin F1 headquarters are women. Another interesting question was about pathway to F1, where he admitted that he never went to college or university, hasn’t gotten a degree, he simply wanted to work in something he enjoyed when he left school and he was ambitious, a story that many of the students could resonate with. Next year, with enough notice, will take us around the Aston Martin F1 factory across the road, a place not open to the public.

Ian opted to stay for a while as the students were given free roam of the museum and what made it even more special, was that no other school had booked a visit, and no members of the public were on site, so it felt very much like a VIP visit. The teams got to race scalextrik around a model Silverstone circuit (That Mr Roberts is desperate to get his hands on), sit in a former F1 car, and play with all the educational games that made the museum a truly interactive experience. Getting tired, and towards the end of our visit, we finished with their 3D Cinematic experience. We’ve been asked not to share what happens, so just imagine being inside a VR machine, but without the headset.

To top it all off before heading home, and after saying our thanks and goodbyes, we took a trip around the corner to the Hilton Hotel where we walked up to the restaurant and onto the balcony, which happened to just overlook the starting grid. As we were picturing the start of the race in our minds, out came the GT cars for another session. What a great way to end the day. SMCC Racing will compete in the Regional Finals on January 30th after a visit to our manufacturing partner Aston University in Birmingham, where the teams’ cars will be made, tested, raced and evaluated, all important information required in the grading criteria for the competition.