LEGO Speed Champions 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car review

76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car is quite possibly the best LEGO F1 set racing on to shelves on March 1, which is handy given it’s also one of the most affordable.

The LEGO Group is going big on Formula 1 for 2024, debuting a range of four new racing-inspired sets a day ahead of the start of the new season. LEGO Icons 10330 McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna, 42165 Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 Pull-Back and 42171 Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance each bring something new and unique to the table, but Speed Champions is where you’ll find the best bang for your buck.

That’s long been the case for this theme, which typically offers the most involved and complex builds you’ll find at this price range. 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car aims to do the same while also recreating one of the most attractive liveries on last season’s starting grid. And it definitely deserves its place on the podium…

— LEGO Speed Champions 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car set details —

Theme: Speed Champions Set name: 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car Release date: March 1, 2024

Price: £20.99 / $26.99 / €26.99 Pieces: 245 Minifigures: 1

LEGO: Order now

— Where to buy LEGO Speed Champions 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car —

LEGO Speed Champions 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car launches March 1, and is available to pre-order from LEGO.com right now. You’ll also find it in LEGO Stores and through third-party retailers from March.

— LEGO Speed Champions 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car build —

Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way first: this set has stickers. Twenty-six of them, in fact. That’s not an egregious amount for a single LEGO Speed Champions set – wait for our review of 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 for a set that’ll really test your commitment to this theme – but it’s ample enough to warrant a fair warning: at least 25% of the build time here will be carefully aligning and applying stickers, even on printed parts for reasons we can only begin to fathom.

That’s arguably the only sticking point (sorry not sorry) across the entire build experience here, though, because 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car is otherwise both fascinating and enjoyable to assemble. The best LEGO Speed Champions sets teach you a new few tricks, and the MCL60 is definitely not short on those – see the single orange minifigure ski sandwiched between slopes to create the narrow lines at the back of the car, or the use of new curved slope elements to realise the car’s distinctive bodywork.

Those are just a couple of examples, but 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car does well to hold your attention pretty much throughout the build, which comes together in just under an hour. If you’re looking at the size of the car and the piece count and wondering how it could ever take that long, well, don’t forget that part of it is the stickers – but it’s also the careful and intricate ways in which the LEGO Speed Champions team has fashioned LEGO elements to pull off a model that’s near-indistinguishable from its source material.

That’s thanks also to the fact that – surprisingly – there are only three visible studs on this entire build, effectively masking that it’s LEGO at all. One of those sits under the 2L bar with stopper at the back of the car, obscured from view, while the other two sit on the black curved slopes stickered with DeWalt logos, tucked away on the side of the car. At first glance, the entire thing looks studless.

How easily and effortlessly 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car tricks you into thinking you’re looking at something not necessarily built from bricks is testament to how well the designers have captured the smooth, sleek bodywork of the real-life race car, with no obvious gaps or jarring lines. Everything flows perfectly, but in true Speed Champions fashion manages that without relying on specialist elements (there are new parts, but they’re the kind that will work well in all sorts of applications, not just F1 cars).

If there’s one tiny area on which to pull up 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car, it’s those rear tyres, which should technically be a little wider than their front counterparts. The most die-hard of F1 aficionados may find it too much of a dealbreaker, but those of us able to accept a little bit of artistic licence in a car that otherwise goes above and beyond what you’d normally expect for a LEGO model should be racing for this set on day one. Plus, the new printed slicks are perfect.

— LEGO Speed Champions 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car characters —

There’s an argument to be made with certain LEGO Speed Champions sets that they should include named drivers, especially when the car in question is so closely associated with real-life figures (in this case, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri). But then the theme would have to mix flesh-toned minifigures with classic yellow-skinned characters, and that might be a step too far for the LEGO Group.

That means we’re still looking at a generic driver in 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car, who bears little resemblance to either Norris or Piastri. He’s at least decked out in official McLaren gear, so you can always customise your own tiny official F1 driver. The printed helmet is a tidy bonus too.

— LEGO Speed Champions 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car price —

Single LEGO Speed Champions cars have received yet another price bump for 2024, bringing the cost of 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car up to £20.99 / $26.99 / €26.99. In isolation, it’s an incremental increase – last year’s cars were £19.99 / $24.99 / €24.99 – but when you’re collecting the entire wave, it all starts to add up (even more so when you remember the eight-wide cars originally retailed for £17.99 / $19.99 / €19.99 in 2020).

The level of detail and intricacy of the build is still unparalleled even at this higher price tag, so you won’t feel too hard done by. But there’s a breaking point somewhere for these sets, and it feels like we’re very much on the way there…

— LEGO Speed Champions 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car pictures —

— LEGO Speed Champions 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car pros and cons —

At some point, the LEGO Speed Champions team will surely run out of ways to surprise us. But it hasn’t happened with 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car, which delivers another engaging, interesting and technical build and possibly the best-looking F1 car ever (and definitely the best at this scale).

The tiny price hike stings just a little bit, but you’ll still have no regrets bringing down the chequered flag for this one.

76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car pros	76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car cons
Authentic and accurate to the real-life MCL60	Stickers, as ever, but a couple of trickier ones here
New elements do it plenty of favours, without being too specialist	Rear tyres should technically be a little wider
Novel techniques and building experience

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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— Alternatives to LEGO Speed Champions 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car —

Whatever kind of LEGO Formula 1 experience you’re in the mood for, the LEGO Group has you covered from March. Launching alongside 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car are a larger LEGO Icons motor in 10330 McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna and a pair of Technic Mercedes, maxing out with 42171 Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance.

If you want to keep things small and System-built, consider 76921 Audi S1 e-tron quattro, 76918 McLaren Solus GT & McLaren F1 LM and 76909 Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance & Mercedes-AMG Project One for the best of what LEGO Speed Champions has to offer right now.

— LEGO Speed Champions 76919 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Car FAQs —