Review: LEGO F1 Collectable Race Cars 71049

LEGO F1 Collectable Race Cars 71049 New Release Review Brick Banter - May 2025

A new style of collectable series is racing in!

With an announcement of collectable cars that nobody really could predict coming, LEGO takes the F1 series of 2025 in another new direction. The LEGO F1 Collectable Race Cars are a cheaper alternative for folks to collect racers in the F1 tournament and not fork out triple-digits for each of the cars. So how does this new move from LEGO hold up? Read on.

Building the LEGO F1 Collectable Race Cars

Straight out of the box we are greeted with an array of new and old pieces alike, but the biggest one being the new chassis. With four axle holes, multiple plate level studs and snot bricks on the side, this chassis is the cornerstone of this wave.

Each of the LEGO F1 Collectable Race Cars are exactly the same in build, but vary in colour, prints (not stickers!) and helmets.

The build looks straight forward – until you realise there are also parts upside-down behind the driver. I initially thought that I was going to be able to build this immediately from the box with no issue. But this stopped me for a good moment. It’s an unsuspecting little build but is perfect for kids and collectors alike to build quickly on the go.

Unique Parts

Each of the LEGO F1 Collectable Race Cars introduce new elements to the table. With the new chassis being one, there are three others to join them. The neck element is certainly unusual to most – it was first introduced in 2016 in the Minecraft line – but we haven’t got it in black since then!

The front fin element is a fantastic new mould, and I know a lot of space and car builders will use these pieces well. Or even as spine element for a mech.

We also get a unique bar element, which is solid and non-flexible; short in uses but better than any alternative.

The wheels and helmet are are also unique to each set – new for the 2025 F1 wave, but some are exclusive here.

12 LEGO F1 Race Cars

Our line-up of LEGO F1 Collectable Race Cars are an F1 car, an F1 ACADEMY car, and 10 cars from the Formula 1 teams: RB20, Mercedes-AMG, Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin, Alpine, Williams, VCARB, Sauber and Haas. Most of these have Minifigure sized versions, but some are unique here too. These are a great way for collectors on a smaller budget to show their F1 pride without forking out a huge amount for the entire car line-up.

It is really nice to see such a large variety of options here – but we need to also remember that this is from a collectable series set. These may well be random purchase for most people, so tracking down your favourite cars may be a bit of trouble. But man does the black of the chassis make the darker cars stand out better. Damn.

Verdict

For F1 fans, any LEGO attention is good attention. 2025 is very well the direction we see LEGO going.

I do know that there are some who would prefer a Minifigure collectable series instead of the LEGO F1 Collectable Race Cars, but I’m all for LEGO expanding out a bit and trying something new. At the end of the day, these are on the cheap side, are good introduction for younger builders.

I know I’m not the target audience here, as I’m not a huge car guy. But I can see the value in this move, and who knows, maybe LEGO are trying to tap into the Hotwheels market? Hmmm.