English team Colossus F1 were crowned F1 in Schools World Champions in fitting surroundings at Ferrari World last night.

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The team, from Robert May’s School in Hook, Hampshire, brushed off finishing runners-up at the UK finals to steer to glory in the world finals on the eve of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Consisting of Paul Cumner, Charles Flynn, Emma Baldry, Dan­iel Warnes, Rachael Matthews and Victoria Waterfield, Colossus were crowned winners of the Bernie Ec­clestone World Championship tro­phy after two arduous years of hard work and a week’s worth of compe­tition in the UAE.

They beat Australian team Gamma Raycing into second place, while Germany’s Boreas took third.

It was a hat-trick of awards for Colossus on the night, who lived up to their name by also claiming the Pressure Challenge Award and In­novative Thinking Award.

Team spokesperson Waterfield said: “It’s fantastic, we’re really ecstatic, the competition has been phenomenal.”

There was real respect for the youngest team in the competition, Project Speed, from Repton School, Dubai, who won the Team Unity Award.

Team members Sami Bushnaq, Aashutosh Dave, Ruby Harrison, Austin Adamson, Sara Rasheed and Findlay-Broch McCallum are all just 12 years old.

Team spokesman McCallum said: “It’s amazing, such an adrena­line rush, it’s fantastic. We’re the youngest team in the competition so when the presenter said ‘I hope they’re all still up’, I knew he must be talking about us. It’s amazing for our age group to win an award here.”

Three members of the Emi­rati/Irish team Fusion F1 won the Best International Collaboration Team Award.

Arjun Dave, 16, team spokesman, said: “It’s an amazing feeling and I’m so glad we won. We never expected it so I’m overjoyed.”