YOUNGSTERS from a York school are one step closer to competing in a Formula One final in Singapore.

Students from St Peter’s School took the top step on the podium in the Schools STEM Challenge Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Final, winning in three categories.

The team, named Ginetta Racing Edu, won first place in the professional class category as well as taking the prize for the best engineered car and the fastest car.

The youngsters were also praised for their team sponsorship and marketing.

Team manager Pierre Herrenschmidtand said: “We had some serious competition at this event so we were thrilled to win.

“Wings and wheels are the key areas for improvement, as we had a wobbly wheel that probably cost us some time on track.”

The group were up against teams from Wetherby High School, Scarborough UTC, Rishworth School in Halifax and Hanson Academy in Bradford as well as students from Sheffield and Otley.

The winning teams will now go on to race in the UK finals at Silverstone on March 19 and 20 to be in with a chance of representing their country in the world finals in Singapore.

Pierre added: “We’re looking at incorporating some new technology and more pit display work for the National Final. I think all our sponsors will be very proud of us and we look forward to the trip to Silverstone.

“We put a lot of hard work and effort into our car and display.

“We need to make some improvements including more car development and weight reduction, pit display and portfolio refinements too. We’re also doing our A levels so we’ll be juggling this with our course work.”

Andrew Denford, founder and chairman of F1 in Schools, praised the team’s talent at the event.