NORTH-East school pupils sampled the excitement of Formula One motor racing at Nissan’s Sunderland plant.

Teams of six youngsters from 25 schools went took part in an 'F1 in Schools' event that aims to inspire teenagers to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and maths.

They were challenged to design and build a model F1 car and race it against the efforts of their rivals on a special track.

The teams were judged not only on the speed of their car but also their engineering prowess, branding and on a presentation they gave to the judges.

The regional winners will compete in the UK competition in March, with the winners going on to a world final at the Singapore Grand Prix later this year.

Nissan created a hi-tech workshop with a 20m test track for the event .

Adrian Smart, the plant’s HR director, said: “It’s fantastic to see the effort and expertise that these schools have been putting into their projects since the test track opened.

“The investment by the Nissan Skills Foundation means every school who wants to take part has access to state of the art equipment, so our local schools have every opportunity to reach their potential in this competition.

“Our support for F1 in Schools is a great example of how we can inspire children to get engaged in STEM subjects and go on to become the next generation of engineers.”