GWSC crowned champions of ‘F1 AusGP’ STEM Challenge!
Congratulations to our GWSC ‘Tinkered Tyres’ STEM Team of Luvina Khurana, Shahani Gowritharan, Shimmer Khandelwal and Tejas Neeli who won the ‘Senior’ Secondary Schools Final of the 2026 ‘Formula One Australian Grand Prix’ STEM Challenge!
Kudos to their fellow GWSC ‘STEM’ Teams who also qualified for and competed in the Secondary Schools Final of this prestigious competition. Our GWSC ‘Junior’ STEM team consisting of Henry Lal Jr., Roger Li, Kevin Lin, Hayden Ng and Reyansh Sunilkumar Nayakar took out second place in their division of the competition, whilst our second GWSC ‘Senior’ STEM team consisting of Anna Cherednik, Wania Saqib, Noman Ahmad and Vivan Pau finished runner’s up to complete a terrific treble of podium finishes for our GWSC ‘STEM’ Teams this year!
We are extremely proud of our GWSC students within these three ‘STEM’ Teams who all represented themselves, their families and our college community so very well throughout the entire competition, which kicked off way back in Term 3 last year. Firstly, teams had to qualify for the ‘F1’ finals by creating a video presentation which explained in great detail their design and subsequent development of a prototype ‘Net Zero’ Race Car or Pit Stop of the Future that would reduce emissions, waste and energy use. They also had to outline the major STEM Principles utilised when designing and building their sustainable scale models, that were associated with form and function, scale and measurement, matter and energy, systems modelling, in addition to data collection and analysis, processing and communications technologies.
From over five hundred entries nation-wide, three of our GWSC STEM Team’s ‘Net Zero’ video presentations were adjudged to each be one of the top three submissions in either the ‘Junior’ Secondary School Division (Years 7-9) or ‘Senior’ Secondary School Division (Years 10-12) from right across Australia, which secured their spot in the Finals of the 2026 ‘F1 AusGP’ STEM Challenge. For the ‘F1’ final, they were tasked with creating a slide presentation and associated 2 minute ‘pitch’ which firstly outlined all of the key STEM principles, in addition links to F1 vehicle engineering and technologies, that were incorporated into the design of their ‘Net Zero’ prototype.
Our GWSC ‘STEM’ Teams presented their respective pitches up on the ‘Innovation Tech Talk Stage’ next to the ‘F1 AusGP’ Albert Park circuit, alongside teams from Norwood International High School, St Kevin’s College, Como Secondary College, St Joseph’s College Mildura, Albert Park College and Scotch College. All of our competing students confidently presented their prototypes on stage in front of an expert judging panel consisting of representatives from The Australian Defence Force, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, Robocats STEM Program and also STEM Hub. Our GWSC ‘STEM’ Teams all delivered an informative and highly entertaining pitch in their competition finals, then engaged in a ‘Q&A’ session with the expert panel where they were posed with some very technical and tricky questions.
At the conclusion of the ‘Green Grid’ STEM Competition Finals, our ‘Tinkered Tyres’ STEM Team consisting of Luvina, Shahani, Shimmer and Tejas were absolutely ecstatic when they were announced as Champions of the 2026 'Formula One Australian Grand Prix' STEM Challenge! The panel of expert judges were blown away by the detail and thought which our leading ‘Senior’ STEM team had put into their ‘Net Zero’ design and associated pitch, awarding them a unanimous victory. It was amazing to witness the support and round of rapturous applause that our victorious students received from their fellow GWSC classmates, alongside all of the F1 fans in the audience surrounding the ‘Innovation Tech Talk Stage’. Similar rounds of applause were also highly audible when our ‘Junior’ GWSC STEM team were announced as the runners up in their division and also after the MC confirmed that our other ‘Senior’ GWSC STEM team had taken out second place in their division as well.
All four members of our victorious ‘Tinkered Tyres’ Senior STEM Team were then taken on a special VIP Experience and Tour of the exclusive ‘Formula 1’ Paddock, Pit Lane and Constructor’s Garages, where the roar of the cars was definitely deafening during their practice sessions out on the Albert Park track. Our students were fortunate to meet and speak with Formula 1 Champion driver Max Verstappen in the F1 Paddock, as he was preparing for another F1 season as lead driver for the Oracle Red Bull F1 Racing Team. The group were also fortunate to be invited to see the inner workings of the McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull team garages along Pit Lane, something which they will never forget. It was indeed an incredible and potentially once in a lifetime experience for all members of our champion STEM team to be involved in!
Special thanks to Mr Mark Robinson for co-ordinating our college’s involvement in this STEM challenge, in addition to mentoring and supporting our thirty-eight GWSC ‘STEM’ teams throughout the entirety of this lengthy competition. Thank-you also to Ms Krystal Shaw and Mr Shaun Tyquin for assisting with the supervision of our GWSC student support crew on the day of the STEM Challenge Finals at the 2026 ‘F1 AusGP’. Kudos also to Mr Bryan Lynch-Wells who kindly assisted a number of our students to design, create, render and then print 3D models of their ‘Net Zero’ prototypes. Thanks also to Mr John Healy who assisted our teams to prepare, conduct safely and film various experiments in the laboratory as part of their STEM Challenge presentations.
Finally, we would like to thank the FiA, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and STEM Hub for sponsoring, organising and running the 2026 ‘Formula One Australian Grand Prix’ STEM Challenge for our students. Thank-you also to the Motorsport Australia ‘Girls on Track’ and FiA ‘Driving Learning’ programs who have previously engaged our future STEM leaders in a range of unique motorsport and mentoring opportunities, which greatly assisted our STEM teams throughout this prestigious competition.
Congratulations again to Luvina, Shahani, Shimmer and Tejas on winning the ‘Senior’ Secondary Schools Division of the 2026 ‘F1 AusGP’ STEM Challenge, it is an incredible achievement and a well-deserved reward for your dedication, teamwork and tireless efforts. We look forward to following your careers in the F1 or a STEM related field in the future!