In Pictures: Building the LEGO McLaren Formula 1 Race Car (42141)

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Note: This feature was first published on 29 March 2022.

Formula 1 is in season again! So, when LEGO officially announced the McLaren Formula 1 Race Car (#42141) set last month, I was excited as I am a fan of both LEGO and F1. I do wished it was a Ferrari race car, but that's just a very personal bias (haha!). The Technic model comprised of 1,432 pieces and is considerably long at 65cm.

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This is also the first-ever LEGO Technic Formula 1 car designed in collaboration with McLaren Racing, and sharp-eyed racing fans will notice that the kit is also based on the new F1 2022 regulations and car design. Hint: Notice the new over-wheel winglets and wheel covers?

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Personally, I thought the 2022 car designs look absolutely on point, with the new 18-inch low-profile tyres giving the car a more "aggressive" aesthetics overall. The booklet also revealed some interesting tidbits; LEGO designer Lars Krogh Jensen worked with McLaren Racing whilst the car was still under development, and so was privy to the process and saw how the car evolved. It also meant that he had to constantly make adjustments to the model.

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I'm never a fan of stickers on LEGO models, but I can also understand how impractical - and expensive - it would have been to product bricks with printed-on decals. The stickers mostly represents the team's sponsors, and because it's an F1 car after all, there's an astounding lot of them. I just hope they don't come off after some time.

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The McLaren Formula 1 Race Car is a Technic set, so there's no surprise in finding plenty of Technic pins out of the box. In fact, the bulk of the 1,432 pieces are the assortments of Technic pins that holds the rest of the bricks together.

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What's the most important part of a race car? The engine of course! Here's the replica of the V6 cylinder engine, complete with moving pistons and moveable suspensions.

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The car chassis follows after the engine is built, and the distinctive over-wheel winglets and driver cockpit come into view. At this stage of the building process, the car size becomes more apparent.

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Yup, the driver wheel works as it does. You can literally steer the car towards any directions you want. I do wished the stickers were designed with a matching black background though.

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By this stage, I had more or less finished building the model. Here's a close-up shot of the front suspension and wheels (with full wet tyres?).

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And here's a shot of the rear of the car, with the rear suspension and differential lock visible.

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2022 F1 cars feature a totally front wing and nose shapes, and the LEGO team pretty much were spot on here too. It's interesting to see that LEGO/McLaren did not have any sponsors decals for the front wing here.

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Perhaps the part that impressed me most was how LEGO managed to get the car's ride height (the distance between the undercarriage of the chassis to the ground) incredibly close to the real thing through four shock absorbers - one for each wheel - built inside.

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You will never see an F1 car engine exposed like this, but LEGO wants you to be able to see the engine pistons move as you "swoosh" the car around. A removable grill that covers this part (and the opposite side as well) will have been perfect.

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The LEGO McLaren Formula 1 Race Car is almost close to scale to the real thing, and the side profile here shows just how, again, accurate the ride height is.

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The model is a great set for any LEGO racing fans and makes for a fantastic display on your bookshelf or the TV console - the car's low profile mean it's also unlikely to obstruct the view of your television screen when you catch the next F1 race. As for how you can get your hands on one, the LEGO McLaren Formular 1 Race Car (42141) costs S$279.90 and is now at LEGO Certified Stores, the LEGO Official Store on Lazada, Amazon, and Shopee, and all affiliated retailers.