STEM Racing World Finals 2026: Team SOAR Wins the FIA Women in Motorsport Award

Team SOAR, a team of four students from the United Arab Emirates backed by sponsors including Evertreen, won the FIA Women in Motorsport Award at the 2026 Aramco STEM Racing World Finals in Singapore. STEM Racing, the competition formerly known as F1 in Schools, asks school teams to run a miniature Formula 1 team: design and build a car, race it, raise sponsorship and defend their work in front of industry judges.

SOAR reached the World Finals as the wildcard team, after finishing second at the 2025 UAE National Finals. The invitation came in January 2026. The team rebuilt its plan around a new goal and a shorter timeline, and took two race cars, three portfolios, a verbal presentation and a full pit display to Singapore in October. Evertreen is proud to be one of SOAR's sponsors.

What is the Aramco STEM Racing World Finals?

The Aramco STEM Racing World Finals, supported by Formula 1, is the global final of what its organisers call the world's leading youth STEM competition, known for years as F1 in Schools. Teams of three to six students spend months working like a real Formula 1 team, and the World Finals bring the best of them together from around the world.

Teams are judged across several disciplines:

• Engineering and manufacturing. Students design a miniature F1 car in CAD software, test its aerodynamics with computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and manufacture it from an official model block using CNC machining and 3D printing.
• Racing. The cars are powered by compressed gas cartridges and race down a straight 20-metre track. Results depend on the car's speed and on the reaction time of the student who launches it.
• Enterprise and marketing. Teams find their own sponsors, manage a real budget, run marketing campaigns and build a physical pit display at the event.
• Scrutineering and judging. Cars are measured against the technical regulations, and teams defend their design choices to a panel of industry experts through written portfolios and a live verbal presentation.

Who is Team SOAR?

SOAR is a team of four students from the UAE, competing as team T63. The roles mirror a real racing team: a project manager, a brand manager, a social impact lead who also works on aerodynamics and CFD, and a design engineer who leads on sustainability. The team's stated purpose is to inspire women and girls into STEM.

SOAR started with no prior knowledge of the competition, as the first team from its school to take part. In its rookie year it placed sixth nationally and won the Best Marketing Award. The next season the team moved up to the Professional category, finished second at the 2025 UAE National Finals, and won the Best Marketing Award, the Best Team Identity Award and the Best Enterprise Portfolio Award.

The road to Singapore was not smooth. In spring 2026, around two months of disruption moved school online and closed the workshops the team needed for manufacturing and testing. SOAR re-planned its schedule around the delay, kept the remote work moving, and still arrived in Singapore with two cars, its portfolios and a full pit display.

Team SOAR wins the FIA Women in Motorsport Award

At the World Finals, SOAR won the FIA Women in Motorsport Award. The FIA is the governing body of world motorsport, and its Women in Motorsport programme works to bring more women into every part of the sport, from engineering to the track. For a team founded to inspire women and girls into STEM, it is a fitting recognition.

How fast was Team SOAR's car?

A STEM Racing race is over in little more than a second. In Heat 10, Race 1, SOAR's car recorded 20.93 metres per second, about 75 km/h, the highest speed reading of the four cars in that race. Its total time was 1.332 seconds, including a 0.214-second reaction time at the start, and it finished second in the race, 0.049 seconds behind the winner.

Engineering, enterprise and sustainability

Behind the car sits months of project work. SOAR ran its season like a professional project, with a work breakdown structure, a critical-path schedule, a risk register and progress reviews every two to three weeks. Its car bodies were CNC machined at Yas Marina with its manufacturing partner, Yas in Schools.

Sustainability was one of the team's pillars, with a dedicated sustainability lead. According to its pit display, the team built a more sustainable STEM Racing track from leftover wood and recorded the process so other teams could recreate it. It also chose sustainable uniform suppliers, ran recycling projects and explored ways to reduce the carbon emissions of its engineering.

SOAR's other initiatives included:

• SOAR Blueprints. Free resources, such as budget templates, to lower the barriers for new teams entering the competition.
• The SOAR Women in STEM Award. An award to encourage STEM Racing teams to engage female students and to recognise those promoting female participation in STEM.
• A breast cancer awareness campaign. Team members wore pink ribbons at the World Finals.

Why Evertreen sponsored SOAR

Evertreen is a platform where companies fund tree planting and climate projects and can see where their contribution goes. We backed SOAR because the team brings together things we care about: careful engineering, taking the environmental impact of that engineering seriously, and opening doors for the next generation, especially girls in STEM. Our logo travelled with the team on its uniforms and pit display in Singapore, but the achievement is entirely theirs.

Companies that want to fund tree planting can find out more about corporate tree planting with Evertreen.

Why STEM Racing matters

• A pathway into engineering careers. Many alumni have gone on to engineering careers in motorsport, including at Formula 1 teams.
• Industry-standard tools. Students learn professional CAD, CFD simulation and manufacturing equipment before they reach university.
• Global collaboration. Teams from many countries meet, compete and learn from each other under professional conditions.

Quick facts

• Event: 2026 Aramco STEM Racing World Finals (formerly F1 in Schools), supported by Formula 1, Singapore, October 2026 (#SRWF26).
• Team: SOAR, team T63, United Arab Emirates, four students.
• Route to the World Finals: wildcard entry after second place at the 2025 UAE National Finals.
• Award at the World Finals: FIA Women in Motorsport Award.
• Speed: 20.93 m/s (about 75 km/h) in Heat 10, Race 1, the highest speed reading of that race.
• Earlier awards: Best Marketing Award in the rookie year; Best Marketing, Best Team Identity and Best Enterprise Portfolio Awards in the Professional category, 2025 season.
• Sponsor: Evertreen is one of SOAR's sponsors.

Frequently asked questions

What is STEM Racing?

STEM Racing is an international STEM competition in which teams of three to six students design, manufacture, race and market a miniature Formula 1 car. The Aramco STEM Racing World Finals, supported by Formula 1, is its global final.

Is STEM Racing the same as F1 in Schools?

Yes. STEM Racing is the competition formerly known as F1 in Schools. The format is the same: teams run a miniature Formula 1 team across engineering, racing and enterprise.

Who won the FIA Women in Motorsport Award at the 2026 STEM Racing World Finals?

Team SOAR from the United Arab Emirates won the FIA Women in Motorsport Award at the 2026 Aramco STEM Racing World Finals in Singapore.

How fast are STEM Racing cars?

The cars cover the straight 20-metre track in little more than a second. In Heat 10, Race 1 of the 2026 World Finals, Team SOAR's car recorded 20.93 m/s, about 75 km/h.

How are STEM Racing teams judged?

Teams are judged on engineering and manufacturing, on-track racing, enterprise and marketing (including sponsorship and the pit display), scrutineering against the technical regulations, written portfolios and a live verbal presentation to industry experts.

How did Team SOAR qualify for the World Finals?

SOAR finished second at the 2025 UAE National Finals and was invited to the 2026 World Finals as the wildcard team in January 2026.

Why does Evertreen sponsor Team SOAR?

Evertreen supports SOAR because the team combines careful engineering, attention to the environmental impact of that engineering and a clear mission to inspire women and girls into STEM.