Just when you thought you were done with LEGO Technic F1 cars…

LEGO Technic 42228 McLaren MCL39 F1 Car avoids feeling too familiar by offering a fresh take on an otherwise established formula.

LEGO Technic hasn't been short of Formula 1 cars lately, but this latest effort is so much more than a case of déjà vu, thanks to an inspired design that refines the rulebook for what's come before.

42228 McLaren MCL39 F1 Car

Release: Mar 1, 2026

Retiring: Dec 31, 2028

Price: £199.99 / $229.99 / €229.99

Pieces: 1,675

Minifigures: 0

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Buy now at LEGO.com

You’d be forgiven for thinking LEGO Technic 42228 McLaren MCL39 is much the same as what we’ve had before. Releasing March 2026, 42228 is the fifth such-scaled F1 car to come out of Technic in recent years, after 2022’s 42141 McLaren Formula 1 Race Car, 2024’s 42171 Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance and last year’s 42206 Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 F1 Car and 42207 Ferrari SF-24 F1 Car. And at face value there’s a clear and distinct design language that all of these models follow and that 42228 very much continues.

Yet, just like with 2025’s Ferrari and Red Bull editions, this year’s McLaren entry rewires that design language for today’s LEGO fan, adding new words and vocabulary across a repertoire of details and techniques. 42228 continues the learnings from previous models, building upon the concepts that still hold firm at the same time as introducing some refinements, modifications and new ideas that not only give this Technic model its own unique identity within the broader collection, but arguably sets it apart as the best addition to the line-up yet.

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We were blown away by last year’s Red Bull and Ferrari for how they elevated the number of team-specific details to each vehicle and offered, for what on paper were very similar models, completely different approaches to their builds. This McLaren MCL39 very much continues the ethos in working towards a similar endpoint in a completely different manner in a build that at once may feel familiar in places but still manages to intrigue and surprise you with its ideas and applications.

Importantly, those changes are a mix of style and substance. Following on from the Red Bull and Ferrari, the McLaren has introduced a number of small but marked improvements to the build experience and design structure. One of the more interesting examples of this is in how aspects such as the front wing and sidepods are built independently of the rest of the model before a simple connection (for the wing, underneath the nose; for the sidepods just Technic pins along the central engine section) puts them in place.

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And one of the more satisfying – and arguably most necessary – changes is in how the axle construction between front wheels and the steering column and steering wheel come together far more fluidly to avoid misalignment. Anyone who got it wrong with the Ferrari or Red Bull knows what a pain that was to put right, and that’s if they were able to pull it apart at all.

Across a catalogue of complex LEGO models, the Technic design team always manage to show an innate understanding of not only their quite unique medium, but also of you, the builder, and the end result with these models is a real feeling of luxury design and LEGO building. That is to say, every consideration you weren’t even aware of or could imagine is in place to make the Technic model you are building the most engrossing and rewarding one yet.

This is a team that could be forgiven for resting on its laurels with the F1 Car collection because of the beauty and unique appeal that the subject matter offers. They could be forgiven for simply churning out recoloured car year after year, because they’d still make for a great line-up.

Yet they do not do that. LEGO Technic's designers further their various collections with an approach that asks ‘how can we make this latest addition even cooler?’, and the F1 Car collection is one of the prime examples of how they find the answer. 42228 McLaren MCL39 follows the same framework as those that have come before it, but turns left where you’d expect to go right, goes up when you thought it would be down, and still manages to take you to an amazing final destination in a way that's just as interesting and unique as any of the previous entries in this (admittedly quite costly) collection.

And the end result, that final destination, is a thing of real beauty, celebrating the engineering masterclass that went into the real-life car that won the 2025 Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships at the same time as showcasing all the design prowess that Technic alone can offer in all those pins, axles and panels.

Pleasingly, too, this is one collection that at least for now is not the victim of any more price increases. Where the likes of modular buildings and LEGO Star Wars are seeing similar and new models release at ever-increasing prices, 42228 is priced the same as last year’s Ferrari and Red Bull. That may in some part be because the Ferrari and Red Bull themselves marked a price increase on what came before in this collection, but aspects such as the printed tyres and number of stickers feel like fair contributors to that, rather than any external economic factors that are seemingly impacting LEGO sets elsewhere in 2026. And combined with just how advanced and engrossing this set is, the price feels fair value.

How does it compare to 42206 Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 and 42207 Ferrari SF-24? In build experience and design, 42228 McLaren MCL39 marks another step up, whilst for looks and style it will come down to a matter of taste, or which team you may support. If we’re hard-pressed, while the Red Bull and McLaren are worthy models in this collection and in future years will stand as great LEGO versions of Championship-winning cars, with the McLaren in particular being even more fun to build and even more impressive as a final model, that Ferrari still holds special appeal…

Our honest opinion: You may think you don’t need another LEGO Technic F1 car, but just wait until you get to build this McLaren and behold all its glory. Another luxury LEGO experience that we wholeheartedly recommend.

This LEGO set was provided by the LEGO Group for review purposes.

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How long does it take to build LEGO Technic 42228 McLaren MCL39 F1 Car ?

LEGO Technic 42228 McLaren MCL39 is a complex and detailed build that comes together in around six to eight hours. You can go easy on those fingertips and extend this to 10+ hours.