There was some unusual model car news at the Grand Prix of Miami this past weekend as Lego displayed several accurately scaled Formula 1 cars before the race. The models were strange as they deviated from Lego’s recent life-size models in several ways.
First of all, these were actual, running cars. Most giant Lego cars are static models, so every single bit would typically be made from bricks, including the tires and other components that are non-functional parts of the model. In this case, the bodies and every visible bit are indeed plastic bricks… except for the wheels and tires. Those were real, provided by the F1 teams.
These cars were built on a steel frame, another departure for the company. And the electric motors used here are not available in any of the company’s building sets, either. You might remember a few years ago when they created a running Bugatti Chiron and used over 2,000 of their motors to power the car to an estimated 13 miles per hour.
The budget and time constraints didn’t allow that sort of creativity, but we’re not complaining. The Miami cars achieve that same blistering speed, just fast enough for the driver’s parade. Also, they only built one car per team, so these are stretched a bit to allow each team’s pair of drivers to sit bobsled style in the cockpit.
The drivers got a bit competitive in the corners, which made it all more surreal.
The most unusual feature, though, is that these aren’t realistically proportioned F1 cars. They are large-scale models of the small-scale models, so the inherent compromises (seems harsh to call them that) required by brickbuilding are magnified to 1/1 scale. In other words, they don’t look so much like real Formula 1 cars as much as they look like giant replicas of the very cars you or your kids might build!
Who knows, perhaps Lego could sponsor a real team someday. With Hot Wheels getting in on F1 racing next year (like, a real car in real races), a toy car rivalry would be a great way to keep younger fans engaged in the sport.
ESPN has a great video of the design and build, so check it out here.
