Day Nine of our 12-day festive countdown feature looks at another activation between LEGO and Formula 1 – this time on a scale never before witnessed in the sport.
F1 and the LEGO Group staged an unprecedented drivers’ parade at the Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix, replacing the traditional flatbed procession with fully drivable, life-size LEGO F1 cars that carried all 20 drivers around the Miami International Autodrome.
The activation was part of the sport’s ongoing multi-year partnership with the LEGO Group and underscored an elevation of fan engagement formats during race weekends.
Each bespoke big build was created by a team of 26 LEGO designers, engineers and specialist builders at the company’s Kladno facility in the Czech Republic.
The cars are based on the LEGO F1 Speed Champions range and constructed from nearly 400,000 LEGO bricks apiece, with authentic Pirelli racing tyres and electric drive systems that enabled them to reach speeds of around 20kmh.
“This was a true highlight of the year – both for the LEGO brand and for me, personally,” Emily Jacobs, Vice President of In-Bound Licensing, Entertainment Partners & Content at the LEGO Group told Sector.
To see…all 20 of the drivers on the grid re-discovering their inner child as they completed their lap of the track, is something that we are incredibly proud of.
Emily Jacobs
“To make the LEGO Driver’s Parade come to life took incredible collaboration between the LEGO Group, Formula 1, all 10 of its teams, and the Miami Grand Prix team, and we were so thrilled with how it was executed.
“To see the reactions from fans in the stands and on social media, but also all 20 of the drivers on the grid re-discovering their inner child as they completed their lap of the track, is something that we are incredibly proud of.
“The Parade broke engagement records across many F1 and LEGO brand social channels, and created an unforgettable moment early in the season – truly bringing together our brands in a way that brought fun and excitement to the track like never before!”
The builds weigh around 1,500 kg each, including structural and non-LEGO components, and replicated the liveries and sponsor decals of all 10 Formula 1 teams at near-full scale – a technical challenge that combined aesthetics with functional engineering to support two-person seating and a complete parade lap.
Drivers embraced the unusual experience, mixing competitive spirit with genuine enjoyment. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton said, “That was the most fun drivers’ parade we’ve ever had, some dirty driving, it was great fun,” reflecting the light-hearted spirit of the event.
Max Verstappen added a smile to the spectacle, noting some of the practical challenges, “I do think they will have to sweep the track, there is some LEGO debris! We were a bit slow in top speed and we slowly dropped back but I think it is more important they clean the track.”
Talking of LEGO on the circuit, a 48-minute documentary “Bricks on Track: Building the LEGO F1 Drivers’ Parade” gives all the painstaking details of the work put in to creating one of the most memorable moments in F1 history, while the cars were used across the year at other activations around the world.
The Miami LEGO drivers’ parade illustrates how F1 and its commercial partners are pushing fan-facing experiences beyond static displays, turning pre-race traditions into headline-making, shareable moments that extend engagement beyond the circuit and reinforce wider brand narratives.
