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The 2025 Formula 1 season made its first of three stops in the United States this past weekend for the fourth annual Miami Grand Prix. While the race itself was largely anticlimactic, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri winning comfortably, the weekend did have some excitement, thanks in large part to a LEGO sponsorship and pre-race shenanigans.
Earlier in the week, LEGO unveiled 10 life-sized Formula 1 cars. According to the F1 website, each car was nearly 1:1 in scale with Formula 1 cars and was made of nearly 400,000 LEGO bricks. They weighed over 2,000 pounds and, here’s the kicker, were actually drivable! The motorized LEGO cars couldn’t go very fast, reaching only about 12 miles per hour. But that didn’t stop F1 drivers from going wheel-to-wheel on the parade lap prior to the race. Because when you get a chance to race a life-sized LEGO car, what else are you going to do?!
@f1 this is one of the coolest things to ever happen 😍🤣 @LEGO #f1 #formula1 #f1drivers #miamigp @LEGO® & F1®
Formula 1 Drivers Cause Chaos While Driving Full-Sized LEGO Cars On Parade Lap
While some drivers took it easy, waving to the crowd as they casually cruised around the temporary circuit, others decided to get a little more physical. The result? Plenty of contact and wrecked race cars driven by fully grown men who are giggling their heads off like school children.
@f1 huge crash, bricks everywhere, drivers living their best life 😆 #f1 #formula1 #miamigp @LEGO @LEGO® & F1®
“That was the most fun drivers’ parade we’ve ever had,” Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton said afterward. “Some dirty driving from this one here (Alpine driver Pierre Gasly)! That was great fun.”
“They’ll have to sweep the track, there’s quite a bit of Lego debris on the track,” reigning series champion Max Verstappen said. “A bit different, that’s for sure!”
The incredible scene was the result of over a year of planning, according to Luke Smith of The Athletic.
“All our partners, all my colleagues, and all the F1 teams worked perfectly,” LEGO’s engineering manager specialist Martin Smida said. “For me, it was a surprise how it was possible with so many companies.”
Personally, we couldn’t be more glad that it was. Because life-sized, drivable LEGO cars is just about every child’s dream.