Domenicali and Ben Sulayem set for Silverstone Lego minicar role

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem are set to take part in the build-up to the Lego minicar parade at Silverstone, with both expected to drive the brick-built cars to the starting grid before the official parade lap.

F1 and FIA chiefs join Silverstone spectacle

RacingNews365 understands from well-placed sources that Domenicali and Ben Sulayem will each drive a Lego minicar onto the grid ahead of the parade. However, they are not expected to participate in the parade lap itself.

The plan adds another layer to an event already designed as a highly visible pre-race spectacle. On Thursday, it was announced that the Lego car parade would return after its successful appearance at the 2025 Miami GP, this time with a Silverstone-specific twist: each of the 22 drivers will have an individual minicar made from 28,000 bricks apiece.

For readers following the development of the event, our earlier report on how F1 drivers will take Lego minicars onto the Silverstone parade lap outlines the original format announced for the British GP weekend.

How the grid arrival is expected to work

According to the understood arrangement, the drivers will already be assembled in the FIA garage when Domenicali and Ben Sulayem bring the minicars to the grid. That detail is significant: the two senior figures appear set to play a ceremonial delivery role rather than becoming part of the drivers’ parade itself.

It is a carefully choreographed addition to the pre-race show, placing both F1’s commercial leadership and the FIA presidency directly inside the presentation of a concept that has already attracted attention across the paddock.

Drivers divided over the idea

The reaction from the drivers has not been uniformly positive. Lewis Hamilton voiced doubt over whether he could participate shortly after the Silverstone event was announced, while Max Verstappen was more pointed in his criticism.

Verstappen argued that F1 did not need the spectacle of drivers not looking “like kids and clowns trying to ram into each other.”

That mixed response underlines the tension around Formula 1’s modern race-weekend presentation. The Lego parade is intended as entertainment, but for some drivers, the balance between showmanship and sporting focus remains a sensitive line. At Silverstone, Domenicali and Ben Sulayem’s expected involvement will only increase the attention on how that balance is being managed.

F1 and FIA chiefs join Silverstone spectacle