Lewis Hamilton and George Russell Win F1 Journalist’s Heart With $260-Worth Signed Gift

Veteran F1 photojournalist Kym Illman recently got a gift from the Mercedes driver duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. It was a LEGO Technic model of the Mercedes-AMG W14 — the 2023 F1 car of the Silver Arrows. The special touch by the duo was their signatures on the front wing of the model.

The LEGO model of the Mercedes W14 is retailing from a start price of $260 on the official F1 Store. This latest set by the Danish toy manufacturer has 1642 pieces of the model car.

Illman posted an Instagram story of the assembled car he received as a gift while tagging Hamilton, Russell, and LEGO’s official handles with the caption, “Thanks to George & Lewis”. Now, LEGO is yet to release the W15 model which is the 2024 Mercedes challenger, which is why Illman received the 2023 car.

F1 photojournalist Kym Illman received a Mercedes W14 LEGO Technic model set as anspecial gift from Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell

Credits: Kym Illman’s Instagram story pic.twitter.com/dKIGuhdWg9

— Aishwary Gaonkar (@aishwary31) August 1, 2024

The W14 model set has a lot of features that justify its high-end retail price. It includes slick tires with accurate wheel covers like the 2023 F1 cars have.

Meanwhile, the steering of the car can also be controlled with the steering wheel. There are also features such as the differential and the V6 engine with cylinders and movable pistons. On top of that, the rear wing opening seems as authentic as on a real-world F1 car.

 

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Besides Mercedes, even McLaren has a partnership with LEGO to produce model sets of its F1 cars. Currently, the MCL60 from 2022 is one of the McLaren cars available for $200.

Meanwhile, there is also an Icons set that features the McLaren MP4/4 — the 1988 car. Apparently, this set also features a figurine of Ayrton Senna, with its price at $98 on the official F1 store.