The British Grand Prix podium usually sparkles with heritage, from the champagne showers to the iconic Royal Automobile Club (RAC) trophy. But this year, it’s about bricks. For the first time ever, the Formula 1 winners at Silverstone are being handed Lego trophies. And yes, they’re full-sized, fully built and totally amazing.
To mark the 75th anniversary of the first-ever Formula 1 World Championship race – held right here at Silverstone in 1950 – Lego and Formula 1 teamed up to create something unexpected: four LEGO-built trophies, inspired by the historic RAC design, and handed to the top three drivers and the winning constructor.
Naturally, I had questions. So I caught up with the man behind the brickwork: Samuel Liltorp Johnson, Creative Lead at the Lego Group and the designer of the Lego F1 trophies.
“I joined the Lego F1 team around Easter,” Sam told me from a commentary booth trackside at Silverstone. “The idea came from wanting to do something really special for the 75th anniversary – and Silverstone just made sense.”
Working closely with both Silverstone and Formula 1, the team settled on a design that would honour the past while doing something totally fresh. The result? A gold-topped Lego trophy for the winner, made up of exactly 2,717 Lego elements, standing over 59cm tall and weighing more than 2kg.
The second and third-place trophies are similar but use white Lego with red and blue accents, respectively, while the constructor’s trophy goes dark blue and gold.
“The RAC trophy is so iconic,” Sam said. “We wanted to pay tribute to it with the shape and colour – but also surprise the drivers with something playful and unexpected.”
Building something this intricate, and more importantly, sturdy, wasn’t straightforward. “I actually looked into whether we’d need a non-Lego structure inside,” Sam explained. “But we managed to make it 100% Lego – using a Technic spine to hold it all together.”
The builds were a proper team effort. Seven Lego model builders in Billund, Denmark, spent over 210 hours crafting the four trophies. They even glued the outer layers to make sure nothing goes flying during the post-race celebrations. “We saw what happened with those Lego cars in Miami,” Sam laughed. “We didn’t want to sweep up 2,000 pieces off the podium.”
So what’s it like seeing your creation handed to a world-class driver in front of millions of fans?
“Honestly? Surreal,” he said. “As a toy designer, there’s a huge buzz when you see a kid choose your set in a shop. But this is something else. This is global. And my grandad, who watched races with me when I was little, would have thought this was the coolest thing ever.”
For Sam, it’s not just about creating a one-off showpiece. It’s about bringing Lego into the F1 world in a way that makes sense – and makes people smile. “It has to look and feel special,” he said. “We’ve put everything into it.”
There’s a playful side to the whole idea, but also a clear aim: to engage new fans. Lego and Formula 1’s ongoing partnership has already seen ten full-sized, drivable Lego F1 cars take to the track in Miami, and immersive fan experiences pop up across the world under the “Build the Thrill” banner. These trophies are the latest brick in that growing relationship.
And the drivers? They get to keep them. Champagne-soaked and all. “They’ll need a wash afterwards, but they’re proper trophies,” Sam said. “Straight to the trophy cabinet.”
Asked who he’d like to see hoist the Lego trophy, Sam smiled. “As a kid, I watched with my dad and grandad – we had the Ceefax page on at the same time for football results! Honestly, it would be brilliant if a British driver won today. That would just feel right.”
So what’s next for Lego F1? “We’ve got a few things up our sleeve. There’s a big red Lego brick that pops up sometimes on Instagram… but who knows? Hopefully this weekend goes well, and we’ll get to build more of these in the future.”
You can explore the full Lego F1 range on Lego’s US website and Lego’s UK website.
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