Review: 60443 F1 Pit Stop & Pit Crew with Ferrari Car
Posted by CapnRex101,
60443 F1 Pit Stop & Pit Crew with Ferrari Car is remarkably familiar in some ways, recalling the mid-2000s Racers range, which included several sets inspired by Formula 1 pit stops. While they prioritised accessories for play, functions seem like the focus here.
Though I would not describe this model as attractive, it captures all the expected features of modern Formula 1 pit stops and contains the essential minifigures, while the price of £24.99, $29.99 or €29.99 seems very fair, so there is much to like.
Summary
60443 F1 Pit Stop & Pit Crew with Ferrari Car, 332 pieces.
£24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99 | 7.5p/9.0c/9.0c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
This set prioritises functions and totally succeeds, while still looking reasonable
- Excellent pit stop function
- Plenty of minifigures
- Appealing car design
- Exposed Technic elements
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
The driver is simply dressed, like all those in the City Formula 1 range. Though a few sponsors on the torso would have been ideal, the Ferrari branding looks superb and I particularly like the logo on the helmet. Maybe the new part produced for Speed Champions could have been used instead, although the smaller scale of this helmet probably suits the car better.
Four pit crew members are also included: one for each tyre. In reality, they would obviously be specific to the Ferrari and be dressed as such, but generic F1 uniforms mean you can use any car with the pit box. Their reddish orange and grey attire looks marvellous and these torsos are only otherwise found in the more expensive 60445 F1 Truck with RB20 & AMR24 F1 Cars.
Each minifigure sports a white helmet and their shape works well for F1 pit crew, although they should include dark visors. While the goggles typically used with this helmet would not be ideal, they would work better than nothing, in my opinion. However, I do like the variety of heads used on these figures and all four are equipped with wheel guns.
The Completed Model
Pit stops have been a common subject for LEGO sets in the past, normally containing various tool racks and carts for moving tyres around. This model is more cohesive, which is preferable for display and arguably improves play value by keeping the many accessories and minifigures together.
The tyres are a great example, stored on adjustable racks. Sadly, the 2x2 round tiles with holes on these wheels are not decorated to match those on the car, but I am glad spares are included. The hoses in between look nice as well, resembling those linked to the wheel guns in reality.
The pit box incorporates an 8x16 road panel, with smooth ramps attached on each side. There is just enough space for the car to drive through, but I do think it should have been a little wider. However, I like the white tiles delineating the pit box and the area where minifigures could safely stand.
Much of that space is occupied by Technic beams controlling the set's main function and these are very visible, unfortunately. Even so, the grey colour does not look out of place and I like the stickered screens, including one showing the duration of a recent pit stop. 1.95 seconds is quick and close to Ferrari's all time record, but other teams have achieved faster.
There are clips for two of the four wheel guns on this wall, so it is a shame there is not room for them all. The unsightly blue and yellow parts are bothersome too, particularly since these could surely have been swapped for subtler colours. At least these elements are not really visible from the front.
Curved parts are used to excellent effect across the back wall, making the whole structure look very modern and matching the style of 60444 F1 Garage & Mercedes-AMG & Alpine Cars. The black and red colours also correspond with other F1 sets, as well as the included Ferrari, which might be why Ferrari was selected for this set.
With that in mind, the car looks impressive passing through the pits, with barriers swinging into place at either end. The function is controlled using the engine element pictured above, quickly moving two mechanics into position on the Ferrari's left hand side. The minifigures might not be lined up faultlessly, especially for the front left tyre, but this function is satisfying.
Both arms with the minifigures stood on them move smoothly and a sign, known as the lollipop, is attached on the front. When ready, the arms can swing open again and the car returns to the race. Clearly, this is not entirely realistic, but it is a lot of fun and definitely conveys the speed of real F1 pit stops!
All the new Formula 1 cars in LEGO City are identically designed, other than the 4+ 60464 F1 Williams Racing & Haas F1 Race Cars. The shape is simple, but seems suitably aerodynamic and approximates the proportions of real open-wheeled racers. Of course, the Ferrari's famous livery is immediately recognisable and I like the white highlights around the nose.
The printed Ferrari logo looks nice too, alongside the aforementioned tiles on the wheels. The whole nose assembly is fairly bulky and could probably have been slimmed down, although its size strengthens the front wing, so I think the trade-off is worthwhile for play.
The driver can sit inside, albeit with the halo at an extremely dangerous neck height! I love the printed steering wheel though, displaying numbers that read either way up. The side pods look nice as well, putting 1x6 wheel arches to clever use and including 1x4 panels for the underfloor towards the back.
I find the back to be the weakest area, particularly around the rear wing, only represented by a printed 2x4 curved slope. I am glad this piece is printed, but the side panels are missing, which looks awkward on an F1 car. Additionally, the clip underneath seems odd, but makes this model compatible with a function in 60444 F1 Garage & Mercedes-AMG & Alpine Cars, as are all the City Formula 1 cars.
Overall
Taking the price of £24.99, $29.99 or €29.99 into consideration, 60443 F1 Pit Stop & Pit Crew with Ferrari Car, this is a fantastic set. Display value may be limited, but the functions are well designed and I much prefer a single cohesive structure to the many disconnected accessories from the Racers pit stop sets.
There are a couple of areas for improvement, as the Technic beams and colourful pieces could perhaps have been better disguised, but controlling the main function was evidently paramount, as it should be. Otherwise, this is an enjoyable set all round!
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15 comments on this article
Best set of this subtheme.
Well priced, fun, and actually HAS A PLAYFEATURE
This is the only Formula 1 set I wanted to buy and it has definitely been worth it. Also love the generous amount of minifigs!
A member in my LUG is a big F1 fan so I've been over this set a few times.
Ferrari Battle Pack. Now we just need the other dozen or so F1 factions!
We definitely won’t be seeing sub 2 second pit stops.
Hopefully there is no screw up with the driver leaving too early as he’d do serious damage to his front wing driving over the arm.
Cool playset, though it would have been even better if they had managed to integrate some kind of launch system. Also feels slightly pricey for what it is, but we've seen (much) worse.
I would have adored this set as a kid.
The price is EXCELLENT, especially considering the number of minifigs and the Ferrari licensing. I expect this will be a popular set with kids and adults.
Do F1 pits look like that nowadays, with such a huge overhead boom?
I wouldn't know, not having followed F1 for years, just curious.
I mean, back when I was watching F1, pit stops were the most exciting part of the race, other than the start, because such a lot could go wrong between refueling, tyre changes and everything else that needed to be coordinated. Once refueling was banned pit stops got more boring with every season. One of the many reasons I stopped watching F1 years ago.
Noticed this set a week or so ago. Been highly anticipating a review. This didn't disappoint.
Great for play AND display. perfect size and lovely design. something for my work desk.
I really don't mind the exposed Technic elements on this one; in fact, they look like they'd be more authentic to real life than System for those parts, if real life had those huge pivoting pit beams.
@Elcascador said:
"Ferrari Battle Pack. Now we just need the other dozen or so F1 factions!"
I wonder what factions would mean for F1. If it's chassis design, then there are as many factions as teams, ten. If it's team ownership, then there are nine factions, as Red Bull GmbH owns both Oracle Red Bull Racing (duh) and Visa Cash App Racing Bulls (which might be the worst team name ever for F1). The other main faction aspect would probably be engine make, and there are only four of those: Honda/RBPT (both Red Bull teams, will be replaced by Ford/RBPT next year), Ferrari (Ferrari works, Haas, Sauber), Mercedes (Mercedes works, McLaren, Williams, Aston Martin), and Renault (Alpine).
The "forced playability" feels like an odd design choice, and somewhat ruins what would have been a nice diorama set by adding ugly playability features. It's awkward to display properly, and feels like 50% of the parts were simply to bolster the mechanism. I would have preferred a slightly cheaper product minus this mechanism, and maybe added a few other useful garage/pit features like a tool chest and car jack etc. I don't think anything would be lost by removing the mechanism, as figues can easily be placed where required. It also makes it difficult to display two side-by-side, for people who wanted to expand their Ferrari pit scene. They could have simplified the set, and made one for every car manufacturer.
My first 2025 set. While the visual appearance may be flawed in some major areas, this screams mid-late 00s Racers Ferrari F1 set to me, albeit modernized and simplified. So it was a must buy. I think it works out ok for displaying with everything folded
@Gemini_Phoenix said:
"The "forced playability" feels like an odd design choice, and somewhat ruins what would have been a nice diorama set by adding ugly playability features. It's awkward to display properly, and feels like 50% of the parts were simply to bolster the mechanism. I would have preferred a slightly cheaper product minus this mechanism, and maybe added a few other useful garage/pit features like a tool chest and car jack etc. I don't think anything would be lost by removing the mechanism, as figues can easily be placed where required. It also makes it difficult to display two side-by-side, for people who wanted to expand their Ferrari pit scene. They could have simplified the set, and made one for every car manufacturer."
Well, there's a reason this is a City set and not a Speed Champions set. Play value over display value. Can't really fault them here.
That said, I would be all for a more realistic Speed Champions pit stop set, with a accurate setup and crew in appropriate team outfits. Likely not for all 10 teams, but at least for the big four? And hey, maybe go the extra mile to include the actual drivers and team boss....