Meet the PH's Representatives at the F1 in Schools World Finals

By now, Agilas, a team of high school students from the British School Manila (BSM), is already in Saudi Arabia gearing up for the F1 in Schools World Finals scheduled for November 23, 2024.

Neo Angelo Gatlabayan (managing director and chief engineer), Marcus Lau (finance chief, design and innovation director), Aaron Gabriel Chua (manufacturing director and finance deputy), Gian Andre Anggala (brand manager, race and performance engineer), Tara Bahukhandi (marketing and public relations strategist), and Sofia Margaret Gorospe (pit design engineer and marketing associate)—all aged 15 to 18—are the Philippines' first-ever representatives to the global multi-disciplinary challenge.

For over a year, this team of smart, talented, driven, and persevering teens has been preparing for the competition. For those who are not yet familiar, F1 in Schools Ltd is a non-profit under Formula 1 that offers an exciting grassroots program designed to develop future engineers, designers, and executives through the allure of Formula 1 racing.

The challenge allows teams of students aged 9 to 19 to deploy CAD/CAM software to collaborate, design, analyze, manufacture, test, and then race miniature compressed air-powered cars made from an F1 model block.

According to the team's prospectus, "The challenge inspires students to practically use Information Technology, learn about physics, aerodynamics, design, manufacturing, branding, graphics, enterprise and project management, strategic marketing, leadership and teamwork, public relations, media skills, and financial techniques, and apply these in a practical, imaginative, competitive, and exciting way."

The challenge motivates students to practically apply skills across various fields. 

Team Agilas Takes Flight

The BSM students aptly called themselves Agilas "which is a play on the Tagalog words 'aguila' which symbolizes our pride in our country, and 'magilas' reflecting our tenacious determination to succeed."

It was around June 2023 when Gatlabayan and one of his friends stumbled upon F1 in Schools through a conversation with a BSM teacher. "We found out that there's no actual F1 in Schools organizer in the Philippines. But we were interested enough to email the headquarters in the United Kingdom to see if we could somehow join this competition," shares the team leader.

They were referred to the F1 in Schools program in Thailand, which offered them information about the whole F1 in Schools process. "We learned how F1 in Schools involves engineering, marketing, enterprise, and project management," says Gatlabayan, who's currently on his senior year at BSM. They formed the team in August of last year and began learning about the competition, designing a car, and testing it.

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Learning to Bounce Back

When Esquire Philippines interviewed the team, they were busy preparing their engineering, enterprise, and project management portfolios and compiling all the progress they had made in the past year. They had managed to raise sufficient funding for the team to compete in Saudi Arabia.

Lau explains that the project is costly due to expenses for the World Finals trip, which requires flights and a week's accommodation for eight people (six team members and two supervising adults), as mandated by F1. Sponsorships are crucial to covering these costs.

"I'd say the biggest thing we learned from talking to sponsors was how to bounce back from rejection," Gatlabayan muses. "We faced many rejections, but the fact that we kept coming back every time just goes to show how much we've persevered as a team."

Chua, who is responsible for the final assembly of the car, as well as all quality control and maintenance, says the F1 in Schools challenge taught them skills that they can use not only in school but also in their professional careers in the future. "By picking up these skills, we can make a real impact on the world that extends to the wider community," he says.

The BSM students aptly called themselves Agilas "which is a play on the Tagalog words 'aguila' which symbolizes our pride in our country, and 'magilas' reflecting our tenacious determination to succeed."

Aspire to Inspire

Gatlabayan dreams of becoming a mechanical engineer, while Gorospe and Lau aim to study engineering for their undergraduate degrees, followed by a master's in business. Anggala, who is passionate about the environment, plans to focus on sustainable engineering and combine it with business. Chua is considering a double major in chemical engineering or material science, along with business management, while Bahukhandi intends to explore business media and communications.

They know it's not an easy feat to compete against 60 other countries in the world finals, considering that it's their first time to join the competition. But for them, it's a huge accomplishment already to represent the country and their school on the global stage.

Bahukhandi, the youngest member of the team, also underscores another important part of their mission: "I believe the Philippines is ranked very low in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education. So our hope is to help inspire and engage future generations of Filipino students in STEM."