LEGO McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna Review

With the upcoming release of LEGO set 10353: Williams Racing FW14B & Nigel Mansell in March 2025, we take a look at back at the first in the LEGO Icons F1 Driver and Car showcase series, LEGO 10330: McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna.

If you were not aware, the McLaren MP4/4, also known as the McLaren-Honda MP4/4, is one of the most successful Formula One car designs of all time. The car, driven by Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, competed during the 1988 Formula One season in which McLaren won 15 out of 16 races, taking the constructors championship with over 3 times the number of points of runners up, Ferrari. The car also gave the legendary Brazilian driver, Ayrton Senna, his first Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship.

So, did the LEGO McLaren MP4/4 and Ayrton Senna finish on top of the podium, or was it left stranded in the pit lane? Find out in our LEGO Review.

LEGO McLaren MP4/4 Box and Contents

The LEGO McLaren MP4/4 is front and centre on the familiar LEGO Icons black box, with detailed images on the back. Inside, the build is split into 6 sub assembly bags, 4 wheels, the sticker sheet and instruction book.

Don’t panic too much about the stickers as there were only a few (unlike the Speed Champions F1 sets), although I do feel that these display sets should come with printed parts. The book looks slick with a great image of the model on the front. Inside there is a few pages with details about the car, Ayrton Senna and the set designer, Ann Healey. 

LEGO Senna Minifigure

Before we get into the car, the Senna Minifigure makes his walk to the grid. The Senna Minifigure features front and back prints on his red race suit and a double-sided head, enabling you to choose between a cheery or serious expression. The highlight for me, though, is his racing helmet which includes a unique print design. Although more detail could have been added to this piece, it is enough to make the Minifigure stand out. The Minifigure also comes with a hair piece, trophy and holder so that Senna can hold his helmet. He stands on a pedestal, with a cool photo plaque and quote from the legend himself.

This is the first of the stickers too, but it is made a bit more simple if you use the part separator technique!

With Senna ready to race, it is ‘lights out and away we go’ for the LEGO McLaren MP4/4 build!  

Building the LEGO McLaren MP4/4

Using the first bag, we begin to form the chassis and engine block of the LEGO McLaren MP4/4, with a nice nod to Ayrton’s Brazilian heritage in the form of the country’s flag, something that appears a few times throughout the build. I don’t tend to build a lot of car sets, but I do enjoy seeing how the engines and mechanics start to come together. The cattle horns (64847) are a nice touch, and the use of the Pearl Titanium / Pearl Dark Grey colours is a first for me.

The second bag expands on the rear of the LEGO McLaren MP4/4, building out the suspension, using a new wishbone piece (5294: Technic, Steering Arm Triangular with 2 Axles and Tow Ball Socket) which is unique to this set, and then the side pods.

The LEGO McLaren MP4/4’s side pods are built using the Studs Not on Top (SNOT) method and incorporate the first of the MP4/4’s stickers, mirrored Shell logo’s. I actually found that the sticker was placed at the wrong step due to the placement of the inverted slope. I would suggest switching the sticker placement to step 46 and 55 respectively to make life easier.

Printed parts would definitely be appreciated here because, as is usually the case, the white stickers always stand out too much on white parts. The next couple of stickers follow shortly after with the symbol element of the Shell logo. At this point, I am already a little tired of the stickers but that is more because I have just helped with my wife’s Speed Champions set, 76919: 2023 McLaren Formula 1 Race Car, which has over twenty of the pesky things!

We move to the front end of the LEGO McLaren MP4/4 with bag three. The front suspension differs from the rear because it has functional steering, which connects through to the steering wheel with a nice range of motion. Then we, finally, come to the first printed part of the set, a 4×8 curved wedge in red and white. Moving on to the cockpit and the inclusion of one of my favourite parts in the build, a Minifigure Sextant / Quadrant (30154) on the driver’s left to represent the MP4/4’s roll bar stiffness adjustment lever, which Senna and Prost would ratchet down as their fuel weight reduced over the duration of a race.

It is a shame that there isn’t a unique printed part available for the driver’s console, instead we get a panel that frequently appears in Star Wars sets.

Bag four builds up the front and rear wings and the nosecone. This features five additional printed parts, including overlapping McLaren logos for use on the rear wing which uses ball joints to achieve the required angle. The rear wing is also adjustable in order for the team mechanics to make adjustments to the car’s downforce!

It is then time to move on to the wheels and to bag five to build the engine cover. This feels like it could be part of a space rocket, albeit one powered by Honda. The cover is of course removable which means you can display the V6 motor, it does look impressive enough to want to show it off.

As the chequered flag is waved, LEGO McLaren MP4/4 crossed the finish line. The only thing left to build, using bag six, is the car’s display stand and one final sticker which displays the MP4/4’s statistics.

The Finished Build

Apart from the obvious sponsor omissions, the LEGO McLaren MP4/4 stays true its real life counterpart and is an impressive display piece, especially on the stand which angles it nicely to show off the full design. Perhaps the nose shape could have been a little less flat and I would have liked to have wider rear tires, but they both feel like small complaints. The steering function and adjustable rear wing is a great touch, and the low ride height is another aspect that stays true to the original. 

Conclusion

If you are a fan of F1 and you haven’t already picked up the LEGO Icons 10330 McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna set, I would definitely recommend it. The set combines an enjoyable build experience, interesting detailing and a beautiful presentation. With the Williams Racing FW14B & Nigel Mansell joining the line on 1st March 2025 and some amazing potentials for the future (some of which we have written about in our article here), I can see this becoming a fantastic collection for fans. 

What did you think of the LEGO Icons 10330: McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna set? Let us know in the comments!

We consider the future of the LEGO Icons F1 Range in our story: Lights Out and Away We LEGO!

Want to try your hand at a mini scale Williams FW14B? Check out our free instructions on Rebrickable!