The Past, Present and Future of Formula One and LEGO

In September, LEGO announced a partnership with Formula 1. At the recent Las Vegas Grand Prix at the end of November they revealed a wave of F1 branded sets, from Duplo to Technic and a lot in between. So as the 2024 season wraps up in Abu Dhabi, let me show you around the themes and sets that have come before that connected F1 and LEGO.

This official partnership with Formula 1 may be new, but as you’ll see, LEGO has a long history of producing F1-themed sets. 

Duplo

2025 Duplo F1, image via Brickset

You may not have noticed, but Duplo has been doing F1 for a long time. Back in 2017 Mickey Mouse had a nice race car set. In 2012 one of the last Duplo Technic sets (6143) was another race car and of course in 2011 the Cars theme had Francesco Bernoulli in two sets. In 2004 there was the first wave of Ferrari licensed sets. Most were released under the Racers theme, but two Duplo Ferrari F1 sets were the exception.

Image via Bricklink

The start for Duplo though was even further back in 1990 with this blue race car, that appeared in various sets throughout the 1990s in various colours. And because this car shared its base with other Duplo cars, it's probably the only LEGO F1 car with a tow hitch!

Collectibles

Ten Team Cars and Two Demo Cars. Collect them all! Image from LEGO.com

Blind packaging with something other than minifigures may be a new thing, but four-wide cars certainly aren't. In 2012 and 2014 there were tiny Ferrari polybags. They looked like the Tiny Turbo theme that had ended in 2011. Most of these Tiny Turbo sets were made up, mad race cars, but the theme included three Ferrari sets; first a team truck and a pit stop in 2008, and then a section of track with two cars in 2009. Of course we had four-wide cars before the Tiny Turbo's, and even before City. This is the first four-wide race car, from 1972, in the Legoland theme:

Legoland set 650 from 1972. Image via Brickset

City

2025 City F1 set, Ferrari Pit Stop

There have been no F1 cars in the City theme, and surprisingly few F1-like race cars. In 2013 we had the Octan Racing team Grand Prix Truck, with the closest City has come to an F1 car, using Francesco's nose from the Cars theme. There's also set 60322 in 2022 and the somewhat similar 60399 in 2024, but that’s it for City. Any other race cars are go-karts, rally cars and monster trucks.

Town Race Car 6503, Image via Brickset

Back when City was only a Town there were many race car sets, but very few could realistically be called Formula 1. Between 1987 and 1999 there were about a dozen sets with variations of this little race car.

Most notable among those little sets is 1750 from 1992, a Renault promotional set celebrating Nigel Mansell’s world championship. Next year’s Icons set 10353 will be a much more worthy tribute.

In the late 1990s there were half a dozen sets based around this slightly longer race car design:

Town Race Car 6546, Image via Brickset

There were some notable sets in the Town era like 6484 F1 Hauler, a set with a starring role for a haulage truck with a micro-motor, but with Formula 1 branding. Set 6335 Indy Transport contained three race cars. It wasn’t based on any racing team so despite the name could well be used as a Formula 1 truck. There was Shell set 1253 in 1999, with a tiny race car showing the official Ferrari logo, and then there was this strange-looking Shell set from 1987:

Town Race CAr 1467 from 1987, Image via Brickset

Between Town and City, the Racers theme produced a number of F1 cars with minifigures, starting with this Williams from 2003. The box says it’s 1:27 scale and it does look rather big for the minifigure driving it.

Licensed Williams F1 set 8374, image via Brickset

After that attention turned to Ferrari. In 2004 there were three very different sets. The first is 8362, with a pull-back motor. The box shows 1:24 this time which, like the Williams, is much too big for a minifigure. Also like the Williams, it’s a generic racing driver balaclava print on the head, no recognisable driver. Next up is pit stop set 8375 with a car that appears to be properly minifigure-sized. 

Ferrari Pit Stop set 8375, with the first proper minifigure F1 car, image via Brickset

In fact, the designers were so happy with that car that it was used for three more sets in the next two years. For 2007’s set 8144, the design was updated with a longer nose, wing-endplates and new side-pods. Then in 2009 it was redesigned from the ground up and used in two sets, 8168 Ferrari Victory with two race cars and 8185 with one car and an Iveco EuroCargo truck, and this version evolved into the Speed Champions design in 2015.

Icons

2025 Icons set 10353 Williams FW14B & Nigel Mansell, image via LEGO

The new Williams/ Mansell Icons set comes right after this year’s McLaren/ Senna set that received a lot of praise. Although the set has some issues, most notably the narrow rear tires and bad white-on-red printing on the nose, it is a very nice model.

Icons set 10330, McLaren MP4/4 with Ayrton Senna, image via LEGO

That set was a welcome surprise after a long drought. In 13 years of Creator Expert and Icons, many beautiful cars had been produced, but none of them was an F1 car. You have to go all the way back to 2008 for the previous detailed F1 car set. Set 8157 is a large model of the Ferrari F2007 that helped Kimi Räikkönen win the F1 driver's championship in 2006.

Racers set 8157 Ferrari F1 1:9, image via Amazon

The box says 1:9, but by my calculations the length is 1:8. It may not be as refined as more recent sets designed with a bigger range of parts to choose from, but it’s an impressive model all the same. Kimi is still the last driver to win the championship for Ferrari.

Of course before Kimi, Michael Schumacher won five consecutive titles with Ferrari, something nobody could have imagined when he joined the team in 1996. His first Ferrari, the F310, was the inspiration for one of the last Model Team sets: 2556 in 1998.

Model Team Ferrari F1 set 2556, Image via Brickset

The set was part of a Shell promotion, but it was also Ferrari branded. (Did you know Ferrari translates to “Smith”? Doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?) In 1986, when the Model Team theme was introduced, there was a Formula 1 car in the first wave: set 5540. It doesn’t appear to be based on any specific car at the time, and the "Turbo", "Fuel" and "Oil" stickers certainly add to that generic look.

Model Team set 5540 from 1986

Years before Model Team, in the 1970s, we had the short-lived Hobby Set theme. It’s the only theme I have 100% complete. Brickset disagrees, but I don’t think the 2003 Legends re-release of Constellation is part of the theme. But I digress. The first wave of the theme in 1975 included this big blue race car. Although the set name is just “Formula 1,” I’m pretty sure it’s based on the Tyrrell 007 from 1974. 

Hobby Set 392 “Formula 1”, based on the 1974 Tyrrell 007. Image via Brickset

Technic

2025 Technic F1: sets 42207 Ferrari SF-24 and 42206 Red Bull Racing RB20, images via Brickset

Given Technic’s propensity for things with wheels, it is perhaps surprising that the theme went 16 years without a proper race car. Set 8808 in 1994 was called “F1 Racer” but with less than 100 parts and the proportions of a go-kart it wasn't a convincing effort. Next year's 8440 “Formula Flash” was much better. A bit short or wide, depending on how you look at it, and with the wrong number (9) on the nose, but the shape and colours certainly look like the Ferrari 412 that ran in the 1994 and 1995 F1 championships with Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger.

Technic “Formula Flash” F1 set 8440, image via Technicopedia

The name of 1998’s 8445 “Indy Storm” suggests it's based on the Indy Racing League which I'‘m not very familiar with. It could be based on the 1997 Pagan Racing? To me it looks like the Jordan F1 car from those days. It shares its flex-system steering with the Formula Flash, but with the new Technic panels it has a bit more shape.

Technic 8445 “Indy Storm”, image via Rebrickable

Out of nowhere LEGO released the Silver Champion in 2000. Bigger than any Technic car before it, with bigger wheels than ever before, using new link arms for proper push-rod wishbone suspension, this is the set that raised the bar and set the standard for Technic F1 cars for years to come. It is clearly based on Mika Häkkinen’s championship winning McLaren MP4/14, but doesn’t have any licensed branding. It had an engine cover that hinged up, pushed by the damped shock absorbers that had been introduced the year before. While it’s a nice gimmick, it’s not representative of a real-word F1 car.

Technic “Silver Champion” 8458, image via Technicopedia

In 2002 a slightly modified version, updated to use the next generation of panels, was released. This time it was fully licensed as Williams F1. It looked better than the Silver Champ when new, with the striking blue and white livery of the 2001 Williams FW23 , but unfortunately this set is mostly remembered for some of the worst stickers LEGO has ever produced. They just disintegrated over time.

Technic Williams FW23, set 8461, image via Rebrickable

After the 1:13 scale Formula Flash and 1:7 scale Silver Champion and Williams the 2004 Ferrari F1 Racer 1:10 sat nicely in the middle. Based on the F2003, the car that Schumacher raced to his sixth world title, this was a sleek set, making good use of the range of Technic panels now available. It still had the working V10 engine, but the smaller size came at the expense of working suspension.

Technic Ferrari F2003 1:10, set 8386, image via Rebrickable

Two years later again we were back to full size. Set 8674 is called "Ferrari F1 Racer 1:8" but its scale is closer to 1:7. Based on the F2005, the first Ferrari in six years not to win the title, this is much more than another recolour of the original design. This set was redesigned from the ground up, with the chassis now fully studless. It had some nice design touches, like the angle of the steering wheel, and the nose-cone and engine cover that could be removed like on a real F1 car. I have only recently Bricklinked and built this set, and it is my favourite of the big Technic F1 cars. And I am a McLaren and Red Bull fan.

Technic Ferrari F2005 1:8, set 8674, image via Rebrickable

After four sets in six years the Technic designers appeared to have run out of inspiration. The next Technic Formula One-ish car arrived seven years later in 2013 with set 42000 Grand Prix Racer. This model is about 1:8 scale, but not based on any existing car or livery. It once again had the hinged engine cover, and also an adjustable flap in the rear wing for the DRS system Formula 1 introduced in 2011. Don’t get me started on that… There was a knob on the side of the car, and a gearbox to operate the two functions. You could add a motor to operate the functions, but the bulky battery box below the rear wing just looked awful.

Technic “Grand Prix Racer”, set 42000, image via Brickset

After another long wait we finally received an official McLaren F1 car in 2022. It is similar in scale to the previous car, and based on a strange mix of the 2021 and 2022 cars. Someone decided to launch the set around the time the real car was unveiled, and that meant it couldn’t be based on the actual 2022 car, despite the claim on the box. (Formula 1 teams are much better at keeping their designs secret than LEGO is.)

So you have the body of the 2021 car, with the front and rear wing of the 2022 car. The sidepods are a mix of the two, but the livery is from 2021 again. The rear suspension is exactly the same as in set 42000 from nine years earlier. The old wide tyres were no longer available, so they used the tyres from the Batmobile. With their full profile they look a bit like F1 rain tyres. The blue print on the wheel covers reinforces that image, but the wheel covers are too big and should sit inside the rims.

Technic McLaren F1 “2022”, set 42141, image via Brickset

Rather than a removable engine cover the model has gaps in the bodywork to show the working piston engine. While I understand why they left the gaps, they really don't look great. All in all it's a colourful model, but not a great F1 car.

Technic Mercedes W14E, set 42171, image via Brickset

In 2024, LEGO teamed up with Mercedes and released two versions of their 2023 W14E, one as a pull-back motor set and one at the now familiar full size. This is a much more accurate model, which for the first time has slick tyres, as well as better sized wheel covers. Unfortunately the tyres are still the same size front and back, unlike the prototype which has much wider rear tyres. The biggest issue though is the Mercedes livery. So much detail is lost because the entire car is black. Black is my happy colour, but it just doesn’t work for this model.

Speed Champions

2025 Speed Champions line-up, image from LEGO.com

In the 2025 announcements, Speed Champions has received a lot of attention as it will be releasing 10 sets at once, one of each 2024 team. Speed Champions was already on a roll with three sets in 2024; the 2023 McLaren (76919) and the 2023 Aston Martin plus a safety car (76925), and the McLaren as a polybag (30683). Makes you wonder, would they have produced those sets if they’d known in 2022 that the F1 deal was coming? These cars have no race numbers and no recognisable drivers, just like they will be in 2025. LEGO has a license agreement with F1 and the teams, but not with individual drivers.

Speed Champions Mercedes W12E and AMG Project One, set 76909, image via Brickset

Those ‘24 sets were by no means the first Speed Champions F1 sets, not even the first in the 8-wide era. That honour goes to 76909, the Mercedes-AMG F1 W12E from the 2021 season (coupled with a Mercedes-AMG Project One in the same set). Unlike the McLaren and the Aston Martin, this set had two sticker options; number 44 for Lewis Hamilton's car, and 77 for Valtteri Bottas.

Speed Champions Mercedes F1 Team, set 75883, image via Brickset

Five years earlier, in the 6-wide era, Mercedes were represented with the biggest Speed Champions set so far. Set 75883 had two cars, a pitbox, a start/ finish and a podium, tv cameras and a hot dog vendor. This time the car is the Mercedes F1 W07, with Lewis Hamilton (44) and Nico Rosberg (6) car numbers.

The same car design was also used in set 75995, limited edition employee gift for Mercedes. The only stickers in this set are for Lewis’ car, but again the minifigure is a regular yellow head. The set number is quite far outside the rest of the 2017 Speed Champions range of 75877 - 75883. In fact, it's beyond the 2019 range. Which makes you wonder, how far ahead does LEGO assign set numbers, and how last-minute was the decision made to produce this gift set?

Speed Champions McLaren Pit Stop, set 75911, image via Brickset

There’s something strange about the Speed champion set numbers in 2015 as well. They are higher than the 2016 - 2019 numbers, and unlike other years, they are not a consecutive series. And whoever decided to give set number 75911 to a McLaren Mercedes Pit Stop set, when 75912 was a set with two Porsche 911’s? That pit stop set had McLaren MP4/29 with Jenson Button's race number 22 on it.

At this point, you’re probably wondering what happened to Ferrari? Yes, I skipped over the most-represented brand in Speed Champion while I travelled back in time. In 2015, alongside the McLaren Pit Stop there was the only Speed Champions set with a truck. The Scuderia Ferrari Truck (an Iveco Stralis actually) carried the F14T car driven by two world champions in 2014; Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso.

Speed Champions Scuderia Ferrari truck with F14T, set 75913, image via Brickset

Speed Champions Ferrari 312T4

Neither is specifically represented by the generic driver in the red suit. Two years later there was a much smaller set with just the SF16-H, Ferrari's 2016 challenger. Unlike the car in the team truck set which had no number, here the sticker sheet has the option to put Sebastian Vettel's number 5 or Kimi's number 7 on the car.

The last Ferrari set is another unique Speed Champions set, the only set to feature three cars, and one of them is the only historic F1 car so far, Gilles Villeneuve's number 12 Ferrari 312T4 from 1979.

Minifigures

Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher, image via Rebrickable

The list of F1 drivers immortalised in minifig form is very short, and they are nearly all Ferrari drivers. The first set with named drivers and flesh/ light nougat heads was 8389 “M. Schumacher & R. Barrichello”. A tiny set containing a winners podium, Michael and Rubens and no third place driver.

The next set, 8672 Ferrari Finish Line from 2006, exists in two versions, although Brickset lists them as one. The first version depicts the 2005 season with Schumacher and Barrichello, the next one the 2006 season where Barrichello was replaced with Felipe Massa. I’m guessing LEGO were in a rush to get the updated version out, because Rubens and Felipe share the same head. The only way to tell the sets apart is the sticker sheet; a different name over the garage and on their race overalls.

Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen

A similar thing happened a year later with set 8144 Ferrari F1 Team, only here Brickset does distinguish the two. The first version has Schumacher and Massa minifigs, the 2006 drivers, while the second version shows the 2007 team where Kimi Räikkönen has replaced Schumacher. Since Massa had appeared with Rubens’ head in the previous set, they kept using the same head for subsequent sets with Felipe.

The last Racers/ Ferrari set with named drivers was 8168 Ferrari Victory in 2009, and there's only one version with Kimi and Felipe. I suspect something changed about licensing after that, because the next F1 driver minifig was Ayrton Senna, in the Icons set 15 years later.

Hall of Fame

Various talented builders have created LEGO models of Formula 1. I’d like to highlight some of them. I have no doubt there are many more!

Ryan “Brickman” McNaught is not your average AFOL. He’s an Australian LEGO Certified Professional and host of LEGO Masters Australia. I just I had to include the biggest LEGO F1 car ever. Brickman and his team of 20 scaled the Technic McLaren F1 car up to full life-size!

Life-size Technic McLaren F1 by Brickman

Apparently that makes it heavier than the real F1 car.

 

Ferrari 314T4 and Renault RE20 by Carl Greatrix

Another professional is Carl Greatrix who works at TT Games on various LEGO games. You may also know him for his great train models or a certain yellow Caterham Seven.

He also built a few incredibly detailed Formula 1 cars. Carl is not a purist so if you can’t handle the sight of some cut or bent LEGO pieces, look away now. Otherwise, do check out his Flickr folder.

 

Tyrrell P34, Image (C) Luca Rusconi

You can’t talk about LEGO F1 without mentioning RoscoPC. Luca Rusconi is an Italian AFOL who has been building LEGO models of classic F1 cars for 20 years. His portfolio is impressive!

This Tyrrell P34, the famous 6-wheeler, is one of my favourite F1 cars, and a great model. This thinking outside the box, finding the limits of the rules, is one of the things I love about F1.

Luca researches the cars and designs them in CAD before building them “in the brick”. Some of the cars have also received upgrades as new parts became available.

 

Jordan 191 by Peter Blackert, image on Flickr

And then there’s Peter Blackert, or Lego911 on Flickr. Nobody on this planet has built more LEGO cars. Seriously. Grab a cuppa and start browsing his Flickr stream.

When you build that many cars it's no surprise there’s a good few F1 cars in the collection, like this Jordan 191, the car Michael Schumacher drove for almost one race lap on his F1 debut in Spa in 1991.

MOCs and Monaco

The most iconic F1 race is the Monaco Grand Prix. Driving race cars at 300km/h through the streets of a small town. It's insane! It’s no surprise then that a few builders have recreated this race in bricks.

First up is Simon Pickard who built the iconic hairpin, the slowest corner of the entire year. Here a Tyrrell 006 is chased by an Alfa Romeo Tipo B from a different era.

“Monaco Hairpin”, (C) Simon Pickard. Image from Flickr.

 

“Nouvelle Chicane”, (C) Alex_Bricks, image from Flickr.

Flickr user “alex_bricks” created this great scene from the year when Ayrton Senna, while leading the race, crashed into the barrier, left his car and walked home.

 

F1 Monaco Grand Prix, by Peter Designs, on LEGO Ideas

There are two Ideas projects showing the Monaco track.

This one, “F1 Monaco Grand Prix” by “Peter Designs” has recently been archived because LEGO now have a license deal with F1, so having the F1 logo was probably a red flag (pun intended).

I’m not sure this would work for other tracks, but it certainly does for Monaco.

 

Circuit de Monaco, by Jagamax, on LEGO Ideas

This project, “Circuit de Monaco” by '‘Jagamax” is still “live” on Ideas, but it may well be archived soon. It’s slightly bigger than the first one and focuses a bit more on the landscape/ cityscape around the track. I particularly like the boats in the harbour, although on race day there would be many more!

 

The last builder I want to highlight is Zach, who has recreated every F1 race since 2020 in LEGO stop-motion!

He builds the track, then records all the frames, edits the video… and he does all that 24 times a year!

Qatar Race Recreation by Zach on Instagram

Check out his videos on The Moving Bricks.

The Future of Formula 1

Formula 1 and LEGO may come from different worlds, but their shared legacy proves they’re a great match for creativity and speed. From Duplo to Technic and from licensed sets to MOCs, LEGO has targeted F1 fans for decades. With this new official partnership, the journey accelerates into uncharted territory, inspiring a new generation of builders and racing enthusiasts. So whether you’re reliving F1’s greatest hits or dreaming up your own four-wheeled creations, the possibilities are endless. Who knows what the future will bring for F1 and LEGO.

Are you looking forward to all the new 2025 sets? Can’t wait to start building your own designs now? Let us know in the comments!

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