STEM lecture delivered by James Allison, Technical Director of the Mercedes AMG PETRONAS Formula 1 Team
Year 11 had an incredibly inspiring experience last week at Hutton Grammar School, witnessing James Allison deliver a powerful lecture about the essence of Formula 1: Sport, Business or STEM? In this talk, we learnt about the vast departments involved in Formula 1 (F1) and the wide variety of roles somebody could choose to pursue, working with high level technology to design the foundation of a world-beloved, high-performance sport. Allison strongly foregrounded that collaboration and teamwork was the heart of what F1 was, creating a deepened sense of purpose to their effort and a gorgeous harmony throughout their work. Consequently, this speech taught us that F1 is a powerful force of all 3 elements, and its work is fuelled by people doing the things they love, their results diverse and meaningful. Anybody significantly passionate about STEM should most definitely widen their horizons into the world of F1, as it is a rewarding and satiating experience.
by Abigail and Amy (Year 11)
As avid Formula One fans, when we heard about this opportunity, we jumped at the chance to put our names down. Once we received the confirmation we got on, we were elated to say the least! The lecture far exceeded all of our expectations; it covered everything from the intricacies of a Formula One team and the importance of trial and error, to the process of using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) and wind tunnels to make further advances on the cars aerodynamics. After the lecture was over, James Allison opened the floor to any questions people may have had. Due to the audience being made up of Hutton’s Year 11 and Sixth Form students, along with us and another small group of a students from a visiting school, there were many questions being asked including the inevitable ‘Schumacher or Hamilton’ question. However, after the lecture had concluded, we had a photo with James Allison and we had the opportunity to ask him one of our questions surrounding where the 2025 car diverged the most from initial simulations and expectations. We ended up having a conversation with James about the team overcoming the challenge of current regulations when initially introduced in 2022 and how they affected the car on the straights which caused the car to bounce. The whole experience was so surreal and has provided us with a deep insight into the sport we spend our weekends invested in.
Anna and Grace (Year 11)
