Fernando Alonso wins chaotic Silverstone LEGO race

Fernando Alonso won Formula 1’s pre-British Grand Prix LEGO drivers’ parade at Silverstone after all 22 drivers, plus FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, took to the circuit in individual minicars built from around 28,000 bricks.

What had looked before Sunday like a slightly awkward promotional exercise quickly turned into a messy on-track contest. Several drivers deliberately cut corners or headed for the run-off areas and gravel traps in the brick-built cars, which were capable of roughly 25 km/h, and more than one machine had to be recovered by marshals after getting stranded.

Alonso emerged first at the finish ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Ocon in a field made up of replicas in each team’s colors and carrying each driver’s race number. The format was a step on from Formula 1’s first LEGO parade in Miami in 2025, when drivers shared two-seater cars instead of each having their own.

Carlos Sainz was among those caught out by the chaos. After getting stuck, he abandoned his car and completed the rest of the lap riding with Lando Norris.

The spectacle carried extra intrigue because two of Formula 1’s biggest names had questioned it in advance. Max Verstappen had said before the event, “We shouldn’t look like children and clowns trying to drive into each other,” while Lewis Hamilton had described it as “the most dangerous part of the weekend.” Both still joined the parade at Silverstone.

Ben Sulayem, who had been expected before the event to be involved in getting the cars into position, also ended up joining the on-track fun and was one of those to hit trouble in the gravel.

Instead of becoming a talking point for driver resistance, the parade turned into one of the weekend’s most memorable pre-race set pieces, with the grid treating it as a relaxed contest and Alonso taking the unlikely win before attention shifted back to the British Grand Prix itself.