Three UAE Student Teams Head to Aramco STEM Racing World Finals 2026 in Singapore
The next generation of Formula 1 engineers, designers and motorsport innovators could be starting their careers with a miniature race car.
From 3-7 October 2026, more than 90 student teams from around the world will gather at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore for the Aramco STEM Racing World Finals 2026, competing for the title of World Champions while putting their engineering, design, manufacturing, marketing and project-management skills to the test.
Representing the UAE will be three teams from the ADNOC Yas in Schools programme: ALFA Racing, Hypernix and all-female team SOAR.
The students, aged between 15 and 18, will compete on the international stage in a programme supported by Formula 1 that has previously helped participants progress into careers with some of motorsport’s biggest organisations.
The Aramco STEM Racing World Finals 2026 will take place from 3-7 October at Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore.
How Does STEM Racing Work?
STEM Racing challenges students aged 13 to 19 to create their own miniature Formula 1 team.
Participants design and manufacture a 1:25 scale F1 car, which is then raced on a 20-metre STEM Racing track. But engineering is only one part of the challenge.
Students take on responsibilities spanning team management, research, manufacturing, marketing, visual design, media and enterprise, creating an experience that mirrors many of the different disciplines required within a professional motorsport organisation.
At the 2026 World Finals, more than 90 teams will compete for the World Champions title.
Meet the Three UAE Teams Heading to Singapore
ALFA Racing brings together four 15-year-old students from Jumeirah College: Ayan Mukherjee, Lakshya Agarwal, Ashmik Mehngi and Farhan Sameer Salahuddin.
Their roles cover team management, research, engineering and enterprise. The team heads to Singapore after becoming 2025 Rookie National Champions and winning the Best Verbal Presentation award.
Joining them is Hypernix, the 2025 ADNOC Yas in Schools F1 in Schools National Champions.
The six-member team comprises Mihir Sane, Adnan Muhammed Jifri Nowfal, Ayush Bisoyi, Mohammed Raed Firoz, Saquib Manzar and Hemendra Sridhar, aged 17 to 18. Their responsibilities span engineering, manufacturing, project management, marketing, media and visual design.
Completing the UAE contingent is SOAR, an all-female team of four 17-year-old students: Kimaya Trivedi, Saanvi Matai, Sara Malkani and Saesha Shetty.
SOAR has also used its platform to encourage greater participation by young women in STEM. According to the programme, the team has generated more than five million video views, grown its audience by over 3,000 followers and supported students internationally with STEM Racing enquiries.
The team has also organised a sim-racing competition involving more than 100 students and founded the SOAR Women in STEM Award, which has since become part of the UAE national finals.
From Yas Marina Circuit to the Global Stage
For Yas Marina Circuit, supporting programmes such as STEM Racing creates an educational connection between the UAE’s Formula 1 presence and the young people who may eventually work within the industry.
Ali Al Beshr, General Manager of Yas Marina Circuit, described seeing three ADNOC Yas in Schools teams represent the UAE in Singapore as particularly rewarding, highlighting the creativity and commitment demonstrated by participating students.
And there is evidence that the competition can become much more than a school project.
Former participants have gone on to secure roles within Formula 1 and the wider motorsport industry, including positions connected to Aston Martin, Red Bull and General Motors.
Can a Miniature F1 Car Lead to a Formula 1 Career?
For some former competitors, it already has.
Lewis Fowler, part of the Evolve UK team that became F1 in Schools World Champions in 2019, is now an aerodynamic design engineer at Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team.
Kyriakos Theofanidis, a member of Greece’s Infinite Racing when it won the World Championship in 2016, went on to pursue engineering and has worked within Formula 1, including roles connected with Mercedes and Red Bull Ford Powertrains.
Meanwhile, former US competitor Merritt Kendzior is now a design engineer at GM Performance Power Units and also serves as programme and competitions manager for STEM Racing USA.
Their careers demonstrate the practical value of giving teenagers an opportunity to apply engineering and other classroom skills to a competitive, real-world-style project.
As STEM Racing Founder and Chairman Andrew Denford explains, seeing former students working trackside at Grands Prix and inside Formula 1 factories provides tangible evidence of what the programme can lead to.
UAE Students Take Their STEM Skills Global
For ALFA Racing, Hypernix and SOAR, Singapore represents an opportunity to test their work against some of the strongest student teams in the programme.
But the bigger story extends beyond who ultimately takes home the trophy.
From engineering and manufacturing to marketing, communication and project management, STEM Racing gives students an early look at the variety of careers that exist behind the spectacle of Formula 1.
And with previous competitors already making the journey from classroom projects to professional motorsport, the World Finals could provide an important first step for some of the UAE students hoping to build careers in engineering, technology and racing.
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