Next week, the Formula One teams will emerge from their bases and hit the track for the first time in almost three months, with pre-season testing preceding the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. What better time, then, for LEGO to launch not one, not two, not even three – but 10 (yes, count them, ten!) F1 cars than on March 1st? These form part of a wider tie-in between the Danish brick company and the world’s premier motorsport series. All ten current constructors are represented, and with part counts ranging between 242 and 275, they can be pre-ordered now with an RRP of US $26.99 | CAN $34.99 | UK £22.99 each. On the surface, they all appear very similar – but are they? Will one stand out to take the chequered flag ahead of all the others? Or will the racing margins be too tight to call a winner? Read on as we build all 10 to find out!

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.


The box and contents

Here they are: all 10 boxes!

Most of them follow the same format: a shot of the car on a racetrack on the front, with images of the respective real car inset on the back.


Two sets deviate from this formula, though. 77243 and 77246 are packaged with a black background and 18+ age recommendation. Why? Well, it’s not entirely clear to me. They fulfil precisely the same function as the other 8 sets in the line. I’ve seen some speculation that the prominent Red Bull energy drink promotion may have something to do with it, but there’s no official confirmation either way.


Parts-wise, every set has six numbered, plastic bags, and a loose chassis element.

As with the boxes, the instructions are slightly different between the Red Bull-affiliated and other cars, albeit only in the front and back covers. And F1 cars being so sponsor-heavy, there are some pretty dense sticker sheets! The exact number ranges from the McLaren’s 40 stickers to the Sauber’s comparatively light 24.


The instruction booklets have a side-by-side comparison of the real and LEGO cars before we start building. Not only does this give us a good benchmark to gauge the accuracy of the models, but each set has its own accompanying stat. These are a really fun inclusion!


As you might have gathered, we’re going to do things slightly differently in this review, covering all 10 sets in one go. We’ll go through the detail of building the Red Bull first, as if it were a normal review set. But as we go, we’ll take regular breaks to see how the other cars are made up, and where the differences in construction lie. Capiche? Good! Take your starting grid spots, then…


The build

The build process has us opening two bags at a time throughout. The chassis is the first part to be used in every car. And as we’ve come to expect from the Speed Champions theme, there are plenty of brackets foreshadowing some clever building.


I described the following technique in my notes as ‘outrageous’, and while that might be slightly hyperbolic, it is still pretty neat! A curved slope is attached to a Technic axle via a clear minifigure neck bracket. This is the first of a few features that every single car has in common.

With the addition of some more dark blue parts, we have the start of the rear bodywork and our first stickers. In sets like this, I see stickers as a necessary evil for the required level of detail. But evil they still are! These ones are pretty small, and they’re far from the only ones like this.

F1 cars have fantastically complex aerodynamics, and the underside (or floor) is a big part of that. A variety of wedge plates and curved slopes are used to reflect that fact.

Flipping it back over, we fit the start of the sidepods, where cooling elements like radiators often sit. The inlet is nicely sculpted with some more curved slopes.


These sidepods are an area of relative freedom in F1’s technical regulations, and every team has their own take on the subject. That extends to the LEGO models, and consequently, the internal geometry is unique to each car too. Many use SNOT brackets and bricks in preparation for the sidepods; here, we have the Haas (left) and the Sauber.

The process isn’t always the same between cars, even if they share similar aspects (the connection to the front of the chassis, for instance). The Ferrari and Aston Martin even get the start of their engine intakes (AKA the airbox). Intriguingly, the red Ferrari uses doors for its inlet.

The Alpine, Williams and Mercedes all have a subtle difference at the back. Rather than a Technic axle through a 2×2 cylinder, as we saw on the Red Bull, they have a pair of 1×4 Technic bricks extending rearwards. The neck bracket rear floor features are the same, though.

The McLaren and VCARB are a little more similar to the Red Bull, in that the floor forms an integral part of the chassis rather than being attached via SNOT brackets. The McLaren is particularly intricate, with stud inversions for the floor and 1×2 rounded plates used to taper the sidepods.


As for the VCARB, it features some clipped panels to cover up the floor gaps. And although it uses up a fair few decals, we do get some nice printed 2×2 curved slopes on either side of the chassis.


Here’s what all 9 cars look like at the one-third mark.



But let’s get back to the Bull. As well as some new moulds and re-colours, we have some snazzy printed parts in bags 3 and 4: two tapered slopes that form either side of the engine cover.

Before we get to using those, though, we have some bodywork to finish off! A bright yellow window adds a bit of colour, but otherwise we’re using up a lot of our dark blue pieces (and stickers).

The window will form part of the airbox, which is the focus of our next few parts. This little assembly will sit at the front, doubling as the air intake and the back of the seat.


If you built last year’s 76919 McLaren Formula One Car, you’ll be familiar with how the engine cover comes together. It bears repeating how clever it is though! A long ski sandwiched between the aforementioned printed slopes. The curved tip sticks into the gap in the window.

That’s the rear portion of our Red Bull looking a lot more complete, but we still need to polish up the front end. After the last portion of sidepod (built on its side, with studs facing downwards to act as a stopper), the front of the cockpit comes together with yet more Technic and studded brackets.


We also put in the halo head protection device – a crucial element of modern single-seater race cars. A flex tube bends across the cockpit, and a simple claw forms the central pillar. That black ingot on top may seem innocuous, but it’s actually a very neat detail. That’s the box that houses the cameras used for onboard shots!



One last bit before we check up on the rest of the grid: the rear wing. It makes use of plenty of brackets to mimic the wafer-thin carbon fibre panels. We’re even putting stickers on the inside faces! That’s crazy attention to detail.

Almost every surface on the rear wing is stickered, including both faces of a new 2×6 ramp element. This isn’t actually connected to the rest of the wing; instead, it slots between the two endplates and is linked to the chassis by means of a 1×2 plate with bar.


The construction of the other cars starts to divert somewhat now. In many cases, we’re building front and/or rear wings – all identical to one another. (We’ll take a closer look at the front wing shortly.) The engine covers are almost all unique: the McLaren uses the same ski trick as the Red Bull, but with a far more complex air inlet. The Mercedes, meanwhile, has a darksaber for its fin, and gets both front and rear wings.

The Alpine and Williams both get rear wings, sidepods and engine covers…

… While the Haas and VCARB get front wings, among other things.

The only cars not to gain any wings at all are the Aston Martin, Sauber and Ferrari, where all the focus is on the sidepods. The Sauber’s are pretty simple, while the Ferrari’s are one of the most complicated of the lot! Both it and the Aston Martin also use a nifty trick to connect the trailing edge of the centre floor: a minifigure neck bracket slotted onto the 1×1 ‘inkwell’ pieces.

Once again, here’s where they stand before we tackle bags 5 and 6.




Some more new parts as we tip out the contents of the last two bags of the Red Bull box. Another beautifully printed part here is the nosecone. Unlike the engine covers, where some cars used stickers, this is a part that’s printed on all 10 cars.

And it gets swallowed up by the front wing right away. In fact, this element apart, the construction is exactly the same as the one in last year’s McLaren. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, I guess.


The connection to the rest of the chassis is done in a similar manner to the McLaren, too, but this time we have some lovely new wheel fairings instead of the Technic axle connectors.


Clearly, all the stops were pulled out to achieve the right level of detail. Not only do we have these splendid new wheel fairings, but we have two different sizes of wheel too! The smaller size was introduced in last March’s Speed Champions wave, with the bigger rear tyre being a new mould.

On the real racers, the rear tyres are bigger so that they can deal with the near-1,000bhp that these engines deliver. On these LEGO ones it’s merely a cosmetic detail, but an accurate and welcome one nonetheless.

Let’s check back in with our other cars now. The last ones to gain sidepods are the Mercedes, Haas and VCARB. The Haas ‘pods are basically one piece, with an unusual 1×3 Technic brick hidden among them. The Merc, meanwhile, has a Mixel ball joint within, onto which a stickered panel is placed to match up with some brick-built stripes. The VCARB’s are deceptively simple.

There isn’t much to say about the McLaren, Williams or Alpine. They all get regulation front wings, plus some additional detailing at the front edge of the floor, just behind the front wheels.

The Aston Martin uses a similar engine cover to the Merc, with a darksaber between two tapered slopes (albeit printed ones this time). Sauber and Ferrari also share engine cover techniques, and have finally sprouted front and rear wings.

You may have noticed a curious little assembly in the picture above with the camera box on top. That sub-build completes the Fezza’s airbox: it slots it between the two doors, which close neatly below the red minifig neck bracket to hold it still. This might be my favourite building technique of the entire wave of sets!



The minifigures

Each car comes with one minifigure – naturally, as these are single-seater cars. And straight away we have an exciting new element just for them. This dual-moulded helmet is a better match for the modern F1 driver helmets than the standard LEGO crash helmet, which has been around since the 1990s. Each one has a printed logo on the front, which may reduce their versatility in MOCs somewhat.

When not in the car, each figure also comes with a replacement hair piece. And un-helmeted, we can see we have a far more diverse field of drivers in the LEGO universe! The Williams, Sauber, Aston Martin, Alpine and VCARB pilots are all female, with the others being male. Everyone comes armed with an oversized wrench.

A couple of them have reversible heads, although the Haas driver’s hair doesn’t even come close to covering up the rear of his head. They’re a real mixed bag, and it feels like these were a convenient excuse for LEGO to use up surplus heads and hairpieces. Clearly there was no intention to match the figures to any of the real-life drivers.

That said, you could still pass these ones off as Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc or Carlos Sainz (who has since moved to Williams for 2025); McLaren’s Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri; and Williams development driver Jamie Chadwick. The Merc driver also bears a passing resemblance to 2016 World Drivers’ Champion Nico Rosberg, although he retired long before these cars ever hit the track.

How about the torso prints? Well, they’re fairly variable too. Some, like the Ferrari or Haas suits, look pretty decent. But being devoid of sponsor logos makes others look rather bland; the Mercedes and Sauber suits really suffer from this.

Compare them with last year’s Ayrton Senna minifigure (from 10330 McLaren MP4/4) and the difference is stark. Even compared with the last Speed Champions F1 driver, I’m not entirely sure these are an upgrade across the board. Then again, they don’t feel like a downgrade, either.

At least the other two could open their visors. “Come on, it’s really not that hard, guys…”


The finished model

By the time this review goes out, the teams should have just revealed their liveries for the 2025 season. These LEGO sets represent the cars from the 2024 season, so we can expect there to be some differences. Nevertheless, the full complement of cars looks great!

Let’s pair them off in reverse championship order and take a closer look. First up, the unfortunately-named Kick Sauber, and F1 veterans Williams. The Sauber has the fewest stickers of these sets – which is a positive for the build process – but it does look a bit bland as a result.


Then we have Red Bull’s de-facto junior team, VCARB (a colloquialism for Visa Cash App Racing Bulls), and Haas. The VCARB has loads of printed parts even by the standards of these cars, and they are great. Its sidepods do feel a bit fragile though; in fact, almost every car has at least some aspect that feels a tad flimsy, including the camera boxes.


Now for all the A’s, with Alpine and Aston Martin. I’m surprised that bright green was chosen over LEGO’s dark green for the Aston – personally I think the latter is a closer match to the real thing.


Then we have two teams who have largely dominated the last 15 years of Formula 1: Mercedes and Red Bull. I’m not crazy about the Red Bull livery IRL, but it looks phenomenal in LEGO form with those printed engine covers. I love the way the stickered stripes align with the brick-built ones on the Merc, too.


Finally, we come to Ferrari and last year’s Constructors’ Champions, McLaren. These are two of my favourites. The colours really pop, and both stood out during the build with some clever techniques. The Fezza’s airbox in particular is one I’ll be making a mental note of for future builds.


One last thing before we wrap up. I’ve referred to 76919 McLaren Formula One Car multiple times throughout this review, about which I was very complimentary when reviewing it last year. And now that we have an updated Macca (albeit representing a different car), we can do a direct comparison!


As good as the earlier set is in isolation, I have to say the new one looks far superior when put next to it. Partly that’s down to purpose-made elements like the wheels and wheel covers. But with the front wing being the same size, extending the wheelbase by a stud (and the rest of the car commensurately) makes the proportions much more realistic.


Conclusions and recommendation

In my own words, last year’s McLaren F1 racer was “the best F1 car LEGO has ever made at minifigure scale”. I stand by that statement for the time: 76919 did set a high bar. But it has been cleared in some style by this latest wave of cars. The innovative techniques are still there, but are now supplemented by new, dedicated elements and printed parts. Combine that with the improved proportions, and it’s difficult to see how you could make a more accurate model at this size. The only real let-down is the minifigures – but even then, they still have brand-new helmets.

If you want to collect all 10 competitors, it will set you back a pretty penny. There is enough variety to make each car feel unique, but whether you want to spend $270 on collecting a full (well, half-full, technically) grid may depend on how much of an F1 fan you are. But for any LEGO fan, less than 30 dollars for a single car still represents superb value. I’m partial to the McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull, personally. But you really can’t go wrong with any of them; and if you’re a fan of the theme, I’d go as far as saying that you must pick up at least one. This is Speed Champions at its best.

The LEGO Speed Champions F1 Collection is available for pre-order now, with each set retailing for US $26.99 | CAN $34.99 | UK £22.99 and shipping starting from March 1st. If you’d prefer to go straight for an individual set, hit one of the links below!

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.


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