Lando Norris takes on ‘never-before-attempted’ LEGO McLaren challenge ahead of Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Formula 1 star Lando Norris has been preparing for this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix by taking on a huge challenge set by The LEGO Group and McLaren.
As the 2024 season edges closer to an end, Norris has managed to cut the gap to reigning world champion Max Verstappen in the driver’s championship to 62 points with eight races to go.
The McLaren driver has won two Grands Prix this season, tasting victory in Miami and the Netherlands.
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Meanwhile, Dutchman Verstappen is yet to finish first after winning the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona towards the end of June.
Ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, Norris took part in a historic challenge.
The LEGO Group and McLaren have embarked on the ultimate challenge: creating a life-size, driveable version of the iconic McLaren P1 supercar.
The life-size P1 features 342,817 LEGO Technic elements and an electric motor; it is the first big build they have ever made that’s capable of steering and driving an entire lap of a racetrack.
In total, 8344 hours were spent on developing and constructing the car, with 6134 hours used for development and 2210 hours of production time.
Last week, Norris took the car for a drive as he completed a lap of the famous Silverstone track and became the first F1 driver to have driven a LEGO-built car.
After driving the car, Norris said: "It felt like a car, actually the steering I thought was pretty good. Copse, I did it flat and the wing mirrors flapped a litle bit. It's mint!"
Ben Gulliver, the Test & Development Director of McLaren Automotive said: “Having worked on the original P1 programme for McLaren, it’s amazing to see so many of the elements from the original McLaren P1 brought to life so realistically by the LEGO Technic team for the full-scale model.
“The car was an icon of its time. I hope that through this collaboration with the LEGO Group, we are able to inspire the next generation of designers and engineers to push the boundaries of automotive innovation.”
He added: “This project marks the latest in a long list of collaborations between the LEGO Group and McLaren, bringing together McLaren engineers and the LEGO Model Production team from conception all the way to the final build.”
Speaking to SPORTbible at the event, McLaren’s Chief Design Officer Tobias Suhlmann said: “Lego Technic and McLaren have a long-lasting history and they have worked together for a couple of years now. Therefore, there was no surprise that they would work on this project.
“I think it was a good collaboration with strong teamwork, I think what I saw in both teams was a strong strive for perfection and to really push boundaries, and both teams did just that.”
He continued: “For the future, that is something we want to keep, we always push boundaries as it is our brand’s DNA, everything is for performance and this collaboration showed that drive towards performance and going to the limit.”
F1 will return this weekend with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this weekend, which will take place at the Baku City Circuit on September 15.
Topics: Formula 1, Lando Norris, McLaren, Spotlight
Marcus Chan