Hot Wheels has a long history of involvement in motorsports. The Snake and Mongoose drag racing program and various stunt and extreme sports events come to mind. The company recently entered the world of Formula 1 racing with models and an actual racing team in the works.
A series of 1/64 F1 cars is being released over the next few months to celebrate. The cars represent eight different teams with a pair of cars for each. Unlike some previous unlicensed efforts, this series replicates real liveries with real sponsors.
Some of the cars will be released as single models on blisters, some will come in multi-packs, and some will come with track sets. Yes, track sets, as in these cars are designed to be played with as well as collected. The single cars will sell for the same price as mainline Hot Wheels vehicles although they will likely have special card art and might be on different pegs depending on the store.
Conspicuously absent is a car with the Hot Wheels team livery, which was shown on a full-size mockup at Spielwarenmesse, the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany in January. The Hot Wheels F1 car (the real one) is on track to race for the 2026 season. Along with that 1/1 scale car was a high-end 1/64 model of the same monochromatic flamed scheme. That particular model is part of the Mattel Creations series and is available for pre-order.
In the meantime, the more basic series of 8 teams/16 cars will be rolling out in stores over the next couple of months. Collectors, start your engines!
