Tag Archives: Formula 1

6 Pack

2 Replies

Lego Tyrrell P34B

The incredible car above might look like something from science fiction, but it really was a Formula 1 racing car. A winning Formula 1 racing car too. Designed in the mid ’70s, the Tyrrell P34 debuted in 1976 and survived until the 1978 season. It wasn’t the only six-wheel car either, with Williams, March and even Ferrari experimenting with six-wheel layouts, although Tyrrell were the only team to actually race a such a design.

Powered by the legendary Ford Cosworth DFV engine the P34 finished third overall in the 1976 World Championship and fifth the following year, after which it was replaced with more a conventional design – partly because developing tyres for the twin front axels was becoming a problem for the tyre manufacturer Goodyear.

This brilliant Lego recreation of one of the most iconic Formula 1 cars of all time is the work of Greg 998, whose work also featured here last month. Underneath the beautiful 1970s bodywork sits a replica Cosworth DFV engine, and of course the clever twin steering system found on the real car.

You can see more of the Tyrrell P34 and Greg’s other work by visiting MOCpages, and if you’d like to see the current Formula 1 teams having the freedom to design cars like this, write a letter to Mr. Ecclestone.  Who will immediately throw it in the bin and come up with a plan to award double points for the last race of the season, or something equally ridiculous. Wait, he already did that!?…

Hump Day Special – The Killer Years

1 Reply

Classic Formula 1 Lego

One of TLCB’s favourite groups, MOCpages’ Classic Race Teams, has gone quiet of late. However, MOCpages builder Greg 998 is single handedly keeping the theme going with his expanding garage of superb classic racing machinery. His work includes the Lotus 72, March Ford, Tyrrell 006 and Hunt’s 1976 McLaren shown here, as well as a variety of other historic Formula 1, CanAm and LeMans racers. Just iron your sheets Greg!

Power Up

3 Replies

Lego Power Functions Crane

It’s the opening weekend of the 2014 Formula 1 World Championship in Melbourne, and the Elves are riotously excited. So what’s this Technic crane truck by Eurobricks’ Razor got to do with F1? Well, it’s the first race weekend under the new regulations with new engines, new hybrid systems, new cooling, new exhausts and new downforce. All of this means new reliability problems, and therefore we expect to see quite a few F1 cars being parked during the race.

The Melbourne track is largely on public roads, so crane trucks such as this one are vital in removing broken cars from the side of the track to safety. Razor’s Technic version is powered by nine(!) Power Functions motors, with three battery boxes and four sets of lights. To see it in action and join the discussion head over to the Eurobricks forum via the link above.

Back to our tenuous F1 link; you might see more of crane trucks like this than the Renault-powered cars at Melbourne this weekend… We can’t wait!

F1 2014

Leave a reply

Lego Ferrari F1 2014

It’s nearly here! The 2014 Formula 1 season is almost upon us, and Nathanael L is getting is us ready with his excellent Model Team version of Ferrari’s 2014 title challenger.

Replicating the real Ferrari F14 T, Nathanael has included all of the new regulation-changed aspects of the 2014 cars;

First up is the new power-train, a 1.6 litre V6 turbo with an energy recovery system. Suddenly the Toyota Prius just got a little bit cooler eh? This we like, although we’d like it more still if Formula 1 allowed a free reign in engine capacity, induction and fuel type, much like Le Mans does. Note to Bernie Ecclestone: If you want to encourage more than three engine manufacturers into the sport you’ve got to give them freedom to work to their strengths.

Lego Ferarri F1 2014

Next, the exhaust must exit high and centrally, with the lower plain of the rear wing removed. This means no more ‘blown diffusers’, and a headache for Red Bull.

Lego 2014 F1

The last of the key changes to the regulations for this year sees the front wings narrow and the nose drop, with the aim of reducing downforce and also reducing the chances of a car riding over the top of another in an impact. This, we don’t like. Safety is a good thing, but if the result is the world’s ugliest race car (and there have been no injuries or deaths from an incident of the type aimed at being prevented for decades) perhaps there’s a better way to improve it. The Ferrari F14 T actually has a reasonably elegant solution compared to many of the other cars on the grid, but will it be quick?

Finally, there will be double points awarded in the last race of the season, because – as far as we can tell – Bernie Ecclestone has gone quite mad.

The action starts in Melbourne, Australia on the 14th of March. Will Sebastien Vettel continue his dominance? Will the new turbocharged engines blow up? Will Bernie be jailed for his fraud and corruption charges? Only one month to go!

You can see all the (brilliant) photos of Nathanael L’s Ferrari F14 T on both Flickr and MOCpages.

’70s Night

Leave a reply

Lego 392 F1 Car

Long before this Lego Car Blogger was born there was a time known as ‘The ’70s’. The ’70s were a weird and wonderful era, where Radio 1 DJs roamed the earth and everyone was forced to wear massive trousers or brown, and listen to disco-funk continuously. LEGO were just starting to hit the stratosphere during this period, and their pre-curser to Model Team was beginning to produce some excellent large-scale vehicles.

One of these was the 392 F1 car from 1975, a marvellous primary-coloured affair complete with genuine sponsorship decals. Jens M. – one half of the building duo ‘LegoExotics’ – has reimagined the original, retaining the ace look and colouring whilst bringing it up-to-date by incorporating today’s modern smooth pieces. See all the photos on Flickr at the link above.

Lego 855 Crane

Our second ’70s redux comes from Bobofrutx, who’s taken the 855 mobile crane set from 1978 and given it a similar facelift. His version of the ’70s classic includes the features that showed the beginnings of Technic, including working 4-wheel steering, a rotating and extending boom and a working winch.

You can see all the photos at Bobofrutx’s photostream via the link above, and you can read The Lego Car Blog’s reviews of some of the classic 1970’s sets by clicking on the ‘Reviews’ tab in the main menu.

Past Masters

2 Replies

Lotus 99T Ayrton SennaThese astonishing classic Formula 1 cars, uncovered on both MOCpages and Brickshelf, are the work of Lego-builder F1Fan.

The yellow Camel-liveried car above is a 1987 Lotus 99T, powered by Honda’s ferocious 900bhp 1.5 litre turbo and featuring active suspension. In the hands of the legendary Ayrton Senna the 99T recorded six podiums and two race wins during the ’87 season, allowing Team Lotus to finish third overall behind Williams and McLaren (and ahead of Ferrari). Sadly both Team Lotus and Ayrton would die during the 1994 season, perhaps the biggest loss of talent in a single year of Formula 1.

The blue car below is one of the most innovative and recognisable Formula 1 cars of all time, the remarkable six-wheel Tyrrell P34. F1Fan’s version is based on the previous work by RoscoPC, and updates it to replicate the car from the 1976 International Trophy race at Silverstone.

Interestingly both of these classic Formula 1 cars feature technology which is now banned, making them in some respects more advanced than even the championship winning Red Bull of this year. See both beautiful racing cars at F1Fan’s MOCpage or Brickshelf account via the links above.

Tyrrell P34 1976

Race Horse

2 Replies

Ferrari 156 Race CarThis magnificent 1963 Ferrari 156 comes from one of TLCB’s favourite racing car builders, the amazing bobalexander! Bob has featured a number of times on TLCB with a variety of superb classic race cars, and perhaps this is his most iconic yet.

The Ferrari 156 was one of the first Formula 1 cars to adapt to the new regulations, which in 1961 required tiny 1.5 litre engines. This was long before the days of turbo-chaging, direct injection, KERS and all the other power-boosting technology we’re used to today. Despite the engine being somewhat outside of Ferrari’s comfort zone, the 156 won the World Championship in both 1961 and 1964, and was piloted by some of the best drivers of the era; Phil Hill, John Surtees and Wolfgang Von Trips (who tragically died in his) to name a few.

You can see more of bobalexander!’s beautiful Model Team version of the Ferrari 156 via the link above, or see his other creations that have featured here on TLCB by clicking here.

Lego Ferrari F1 car

Pit Pass

1 Reply

Lego ferrari F1 Circuit de CatalunyaThis superb photograph of the Circuit de Catalunya pit-lane exit, complete with 2013 Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 car, was discovered on Brickshelf rather brilliantly just after the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix. It was built and photographed by lluisgib, and when we say photographed we mean it – there’s no photoshop trickery here! See how he did it at the link above.

Lego F1 Pitlane

Mustached Master

Leave a reply

Williams Renault FW14BWith the 2013 F1 season well underway we’re looking back at one of the greatest team, engine and driver combinations of all time. Williams, Renault and Nigel Mansell came up with the winning combination in 1992, claiming both the F1 Drivers and Constructors Championships. Mansell also became the only driver to hold both the F1 and CART Championships simultaneously. bobalexander! is the builder of this brilliant Championship-winning Williams-Renault FW14B. See all the photos on Flickr.

 

Summer Of ’69

Leave a reply
McLaren MC7

There’s room for another wing on there Bruce…

Sigh. So much for a quiet Sunday. We walked into The Lego Car Blog office today to find the Elves engaged in civil war. After donning oven mitts to separate the little turds we discovered the fight was over who had found this beautiful 1969 McLaren M7. It turns out that two Elves had legitimately discovered it, as Nathanael McCartney has built both winged and un-winged versions. So two dinner tokens, and two calmed Elves. See both versions of this brilliant classic race car on MOCpages.

Start Your Engines!

Leave a reply
Lego F1 Racer 2013

Is that David Coulthard at the wheel?

With the 2013 Formula 1 season nearly upon us, Lego Builders brings us his mildly updated generic racing car. Life imitates Lego this year, and the changes to the 2013 cars are minor, in readiness for the new V6 turbos arriving in 2014. So, who do you think can challenge Vettel and Red Bull Racing for the Championship in 2013?

The Eagle Has Landed

1 Reply
Classic F1 Car

Eagle Weslake Mk1. Just one win. Still, more than HRT.

This stunning blue racing car comes from one of the best motorsport builders around, RoscoPC*. Found on Brickshelf, this 1967 Eagle Weslake V12 features working suspension, engine and steering. The real deal won just a single race, in the hands of Dan Gurney at the notoriously dangerous Spa circuit. After 26 races the car was retired as the team focussed their efforts outside of Grand Prix racing, but nevertheless it earned fame simply by being one the most beautiful Grand Prix racing cars ever made. See more of Rosco’s Lego version at his Brickshelf page via the link above.

*See if you can spot his name in the picture.

Space Race

Leave a reply
Renault F1 Car

To school!

A car! On The Lego Car Blog! About time…

Anyway, this slice of yellow magnificence comes from way back in 1995, when Williams and Renault were dominating F1, Shaggy was boombastic, and mobile phones were for playing Snake. Fitted with Renault’s spectacular race engine the F1 Espace became one of the stars of the first Gran Turismo game on the Playstation. The road car was also one of the stars of the school run, creating a whole new sector that’s only now disappearing thanks to the SUV. Marin Stipkovic has recreated the awesome 1995 one-off with some cunning SNOT and a big pile of yellow plates. Check out the full Espace gallery on MOCpages.

Technic 42000 F1 Racer Preview

5 Replies
42000 Lego Technic F1 Car

The 2013 Technic F1 Car. And an awful carpet colour choice

This ladies and gentleman… ok, probably just gentlemen, is the new 2013 Lego Technic F1 Car, scooped 5 months ahead of launch. Somehow this briefly appeared on an eBay account (the owner of which is now probably sleeping with the fishes), and as countless college girls will testify, once something appears online, it’s there forever.

The 2013 release uses the new 5-digit numbering system and a few new pieces too, including re-shaped and smaller Technic plates, and some pieces in previously unreleased white colouring.

We think that 42000 will sport the usual array of Technic functionality, including a V8 piston engine, pushrod suspension, working steering, and the now common gearbox-controlled-functions-but-not-actually-a-gearbox feature. This is likely to control the rear wing (DRS?!) and openable engine cover. The colour scheme to our eyes looks a bit like the old BAR racing cars, although perhaps a bit messier, but the retro ’71’ roundel looks ace.

Expect to see the new Technic F1 car reach stores in Spring of 2013 (April-ish for our readers in the Southern Hemisphere), by which time we’ll know a lot more about it and the other 2013 Technic releases.

Lego 42000 F1 Car

It’s Go Go Go!

1 Reply

Lego F1 2012

The 2012 Formula 1 Championship kicks off today in Melbourne. ‘Bad Furday’ shows us the new shape for ’12 with his generic Lego F1 2012  MOC on Flickr.

Due to new safety regulations, almost all the cars feature a horrifically ugly ‘stepped nose’ (the lower front wing reduces the chances of the nose riding over another car’s cockpit in an accident). McLaren are the exception, with a beautiful low sweep instead of the ugly step. Judging by their superb 1+2 in qualifying, it proves the adage; if it looks fast, it is fast.

Enjoy the Championship! (Or as much of it you can watch if you don’t have Sky)

Lego F1 2012

Click the link above this picture for Bad Furday's explanations in Lego of the new regulations for 2012