The LEGO Group is focusing on Formula 1 in 2024 in a major way, greatly expanding their previous offerings but one question remains – why now?
Formula 1 models are nothing new for the LEGO Group but never before has there been such a dedicated, licensed range celebrating the sport and its various teams. From March 1, you can pick up
That's more licensed Formula 1 models than we've ever seen in one year and it follows a small range in 2022. With no precedent for such a massive Formula 1 range, it begs the question of why this is happening now.
The most obvious link is that the new season of Formula 1 starts on March 2, 2024 – the day after these new sets release. We'd note that a new season starts every year though, leaving us wondering why 2024 is the right year for this range.
Looking at what was released for Formula 1 in 2020, the small selection included the massive
It may be that the 2022 selection was testing the waters to see if there was enough of an audience for a bigger range. A couple of years gap between then and now would make sense with this theory, allowing enough time for data to be recorded and analysed as well as for new models to be designed.
Nothing has been confirmed but for now, this theory could make the most sense. Otherwise, the sport isn't celebrating any major anniversary in 2024 aside from the 20th anniversary of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Something else to consider is that viewership for Formula 1 has reportedly doubled in recent years. ESPN states that the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship season ended as the second most-viewed season on US television. The viewership essentially doubled from 554,000 in 2018 to 1.11 million in 2023, averaging a 15% increase each year. While that's only limited to the US, it's still a promising sign for the sport's popularity going into 2024.
A global survey from 2021 also shows that of 167,000 people surveyed, 34% of respondents were under 24 and could have been within the target age ranges for the five new LEGO sets. While specific ages of participants have not been provided, it demonstrates why the LEGO Group is focusing on the sport with such a wide range of sets of varying complexity – to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. Add to that any evidence the LEGO Group may have gathered of substantial interest in Formula 1 sets from the 2022 selection and it's a recipe for success.
With all this in mind, it makes sense that The LEGO Group is going all-in on Formula 1 early next month and you can find out more about these upcoming sets and the range by clicking here.
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