Team Lunar from Brighton Grammar School has become the eighth team from Australia to be crowned STEM Racing (formerly F1 in Schools) World Champions, supported with LEAP’s industry-standard simulation and 3D rendering software.
Lunar from Australia have won the 2025 STEM Racing World Finals. Credit: STEM Racing
What is STEM Racing?
STEM Racing, supported by Formula 1, is the world’s only global multidisciplinary challenge, where teams of high school students aged 9-19 engineer a miniature Formula 1 car. These cars are raced down a 20-metre track powered by CO₂ canisters, reaching speeds of over 65km/h! Teams also market a brand around themselves and aim to attract support to fund the project and all its elements, and present their project to a panel of judges and industry experts.
The aim of STEM Racing is to foster lifelong skills in passionate students to support their education and accelerate careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), by combining the thrill of motorsport and competition with learning!
Credit: STEM Racing
Team Lunar
Team Lunar has been competing in STEM Racing since 2022, and has become one of the most dominant Australian teams in the program. The team placed 3rd at the World Finals in Saudi Arabia in 2024, and won back-to-back Australian National Finals. From Brighton Grammar School in Melbourne, the team comprises of 5 year 11 students: Leo Jansen, Max Zylberman, Oliver Chernikeeff, Liam Jones and Max Zhou.
Using the power of Ansys Simulation
In order to develop the fastest car, Lunar uses Ansys simulation software to analyse airflow over 3D models to refine and optimise aerodynamic features of the car before manufacturing physical prototypes.
The team’s lead engineer, Max Zylberman, explains that “Ansys simulation has been vital to the development of our car, as testing, analysing and optimising is a constant process that we undertake. Leading up to the World Finals, we’ve simulated probably over 300 iterations that ultimately gave us the fastest car on track!”
CFD simulations of various design iterations. Credit: Lunar
Rendering in KeyShot
Alongside engineering, the students render their cars in Keyshot to create photorealistic visuals of their design for portfolios, presentations and marketing content. These renders help judges and sponsors understand the engineering intent behind the car before it is ever manufactured.
Renders of Lunar’s car using Keyshot. Credit: Lunar
The World Finals
The 2025 Aramco STEM Racing World Finals took place in Singapore, consisting of 83 teams from 34 different countries. A record-breaking 1.8 million students participated in the initial stage globally, but it was team Lunar the took home the win for Australia! Lunar also won the awards for the Best Engineered Car supported by Atlassian Williams Racing, and the Fastest Car Award supported by Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula 1 Team, clearing the 20m track in just 1.082s!
83 teams from the World Finals. Credit: STEM Racing
Lunar taking the World Champions trophy. Credit: Off the Track
Two members, Max Zylberman and Liam Jones also got selected to join the Komatsu Williams Engineering Academy, a program that will see them receive access to exclusive mentoring, career opportunities and engineering experiences that only 10 students from over 300 applicants globally get selected for each year.
Following the event, the team enjoyed an unforgettable time at the Singapore Grand Prix, taking tours around the F1 team’s garages that sponsored their awards, and standing on the official Formula 1 podium.
The top 3 placed teams from the World Finals on the Singapore F1 podium. Credit: STEM Racing
If you’re competing in STEM Racing and would like to partner with LEAP for CAD, simulation, 3D Rendering or any other technologies to help your team achieve its very best results, then reach out to us via https://www.leapaust.com.au/student-teams/.