Verstappen slams Silverstone Lego parade: 'Drivers should not look like kids or clowns'

Max Verstappen has publicly dismissed Formula 1’s Lego drivers’ parade ahead of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, calling it incompatible with the sport’s image and saying he would rather take the traditional lap on the back of a truck.

The concept returns this weekend after its debut at the Miami Grand Prix last year, where drivers piloted 28,000-brick minicars capped at 25km/h — a limit that did little to prevent repeated collisions and scattered Lego pieces across the circuit. This time, all 22 drivers have their own dedicated minicar.

“I prefer to play with Lego at home, you know, with the kids. Not on a go-kart here, to be honest,” Verstappen told Viaplay. “I prefer to stand on a truck, just with everyone together. I think that’s more fun and I think it also looks more professional.”

The four-time world champion was blunt about his objections to the format. “At the end of the day we are Formula 1 drivers, I think we should not look like kids and clowns trying to ram into each other. I don’t think that is what Formula 1 needs, but it is what it is.”

Despite his reservations, Verstappen said he would not replicate the chaos of Miami, where some drivers cut corners to reach the finish line faster. “I just do my lap and wave at the fans because they deserve that, to see us. But, of course, from my side I would have loved to see it a little bit different.”

Lewis Hamilton also expressed reservations about the parade, though for different reasons, while the majority of drivers on the grid were more enthusiastic during Thursday’s media day at Silverstone.

Reigning world champion Lando Norris was among those looking forward to it. “I’m pretty excited for it, actually,” Norris said at the FIA press conference. “If it’s like Miami, then I think whoever can make it back to the start line will be a winner already. I think it’s a cool thing to do. It’s different. Obviously you’re all together and you can have a little chitchat and see the fans.”

The Lego parade is scheduled to take place ahead of Sunday’s British Grand Prix, with the traditional drivers’ parade format — a lap around Silverstone on the back of a truck — remaining a fixture at most other rounds on the calendar.