The first of the 2026-specification LEGO Speed Champions F1 cars is now available, as Audi is the first team to get the updated treatment, while a very special model from the female-only F1 Academy feeder/support series joins it on shelves from today.
LEGO’s F1 range of small-scale Speed Champions cars only made its debut last year, bringing cars from all ten teams from the 2024 grid in the eight-stud format — along with an eleventh car from F1 The Movie earlier this year. With 2025 being a relatively static year for the F1 regulations and field, changes were not entirely necessary until now, with the new 2026 regulations and change in line-up requiring some alterations to remain current.
While not radically different to look at, the new cars do have some pretty major changes. Along with being shorter and narrower (and lighter), the cars have some visible technological changes in addition to the more significant goings-on under the hood. This includes new, active front and rear wings with different profiles and the removal of the DRS actuator that’s so prominent on the 2024/5 cars and their Speed Champions models.
It’s perhaps a bit of a surprise that the first car is the new Audi R26, rather than a more prominent team like 2024/5 champion McLaren, 2026 newcomer Cadillac, or the much-fancied Ferrari and Mercedes cars. However it’s likely that the car fills a contractual or licensing requirement, with the Audi brand taking over full control of the Sauber team, becoming Audi Revolut F1 Team rather than Kick Sauber, and LEGO also retiring the green Sauber set.
We’ll need to get our hands on the R26 set to check, but the much lower brick count of just 216 pieces against the Sauber’s 259 could reflect the smaller footprint or simpler design of the 2026 cars generally, previewing the expected sets of the remaining ten cars. It’ll certainly be lighter too, though we think proportionally more so than the 30kg of the real things.
Alongside the R26 there’s another new F1 product today, from the F1 Academy series. This championship runs as a support series for F1 during certain events on the calendar and serves to highlight young female talent, creating a pathway into higher formulae.
The car itself is a modified F4 machine, in a single specification made for F1 Academy. Ten of the cars (11 from 2026) sport a livery from each of the different F1 teams, but the set adds a rather special variant: the LEGO-sponsored car. This will be driven this season by Dutch racer Esmee Kosterman, who previously had a wildcard entry at the Zandvoort round of the 2025 championship and secured a points finish.
Smaller than the F1 car, this set has 201 pieces including a minifig of Kosterman herself. Both sets are available from today, and priced at £22.99.
Also launching today, in the LEGO Icons range, is the 739-piece F2004/Michael Schumacher set. This will be available from £79.99 and joins two previous F1 cars in this model line.