Review: 10353 Williams Racing FW14B & Nigel Mansell from LEGO® Icons

The turn of the 1990s brought immense technological innovation to Formula 1 racing, and with it fierce rivalry as teams competed for race car construction and driving dominance. 10353 Williams Racing FW14B & Nigel Mansell is the second historic F1 LEGO® Icons set from this era, showcasing an engineering marvel which finally put Team McLaren-Honda in Williams' mirrors again.

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
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10353 Williams Racing FW14B & Nigel Mansell

• Release date: 1 March 2025
• Pieces: 799

Price: 

• US$ 79.99 on LEGO.com US
• CA$ 99.99 on LEGO.com Canada
• GB£ 69.99 on LEGO.com UK
• AU$ 129.99 on LEGO.com Australia
• NZ$ 139.99 on LEGO.com New Zealand
• DE€ 79,99 on LEGO.com Deutschland
• NL€ 79,99 on LEGO.com Nederland
• FR€ 79,99 on LEGO.com France
• PLN 349.99 on LEGO.com Polska
• NOK 1099,90 on LEGO.com Norge
• DKK 699.95 on LEGO.com Danmark

Other countries click here

 

New printed mould

• 2x Wheel Rim 50 x 30 Wide with Black Slick Tyre with 'EAGLE', 'GOODYEAR' print (110638 | 6540278)
• 2x Wheel Rim 50 x 22.5 with Black Slick Tyre with 'EAGLE', 'GOODYEAR' print (105645 | 6539490)

The stars on this car are two properly wide rear tyres with the grip needed to keep Formula 1 cars' drive wheels planted. A widespread and valid criticism of the first historic LEGO Icons F1 car, 10330 McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna, was its same-width tyres, all four of which were the relatively narrow 22.5 mm version shown above right.

This new mould includes the same inner five-spoke rim as the skinny version which matched the real McLaren's rim style quite closely, but isn't completely accurate for the four-spoked Williams FW14B wheels. This is similar to the story told by the LEGO Technic 42159 Yamaha MT-10 SP (see my review of set 42159), which instead wears wheels developed for and more closely matching the LEGO Technic 42130 BMW Motorrad M 1000 RR which came before it.

The new 30mm wide tyres are a much-needed improvement to the Williams car's proportions, and the Goodyear printing adds another layer of realism. Conveniently, Goodyear was also the F1 tyre supplier during the McLaren MP4/4's run, so these can go right onto Senna's and Prost's car and remain historically accurate.

Pirelli has their grip on the current F1 tyre contract since 2011, so I'm curious if last year's MP4/4 tyres were left unprinted to appease today's F1 tyre monopolist, or if Goodyear's previous omission was simple cost savings? Unlike the McLaren MP4/4, the Williams FW14B LEGO set doesn't include any printed sponsors, possibly leaving budget to print these more detailed tyres instead.

Recoloured elements

• 2x Slope 45° 2 x 4 with ⅔ Inverted Cutout and no Studs in Flame Yellowish Orange/ Bright Light Orange (5540 | 6536557)
• 2x (+2 extra) Equipment Whip - Bent in Bright Blue/ Blue (88704, 75216 | 6536556)

Two elements have been recoloured to represent the FW14B's colourful bodywork and extensive hydraulic systems.

It's unusual to see two extras of an element included in a set, though it seems to have become much more common this year. We suspect The LEGO Group's packaging thresholds for very light elements have changed to be more generous. That's particularly helpful for fragile elements like these thin flexible whips, which are essential to showing some of the most exciting technological features on the Williams FW14B.

Printed tile

• 2x (+1 extra) Tile 1 x 1 with Blue Triangle print (6540279)
  

Besides the tyres, the only printed elements on the car are these generic half-blue white tiles. Given their simple diagonal design, builders might be inclined to use these for mosaic tile floors or other sub-module details. A design so generic means it's more likely these will come to Pick a Brick, but not for some months' time.

Rare parts

• 8x Technic Wishbone with Axle Connectors (5294 | 6464609)

Following in the style of 10330 McLaren MP4/4, 10353 Williams Racing FW14B is the only other set to include these black isosceles suspension wishbones.

READ MORE: See innovative uses for the wishbone from builders Nathan Don, Caz Mockett and Kev Levell

• 4x Brick Special 1 x 2 x 1 2/3 with 4 Studs on 1 Side (22885 | 6523916)
• 3x Plate Special 1 x 1 with Clip Horizontal [Thick Open O Clip] (61252, 52738 | 6536604)
• 1x Slope Curved 2 x 2 with Stud Notch Left (5095 | 6513764)
• 1x Slope Curved 2 x 2 with Stud Notch Right (5093 | 6548965)

These bright light orange parts are all relatively new and only in two or fewer sets so far. A matching pair of the new 2 x 2 wedge curved slopes are included, unlike in LEGO Fortnite 77072 Peely Bone which featured only the right wedge in keetorange.

Returning parts

• 2x (+1 extra) Technic Bush ½ Smooth with Axle Hole (32123b, 42136 | 6536559)

You'd be forgiven for thinking this half-bushing is a new recolour, but twenty years ago, the all-blue LEGO Technic 8415 Dump Truck included twelve of them. That was the only set to include blue bushings, released the same year as the yellow half-bushings which instead stood the test of time.

Functional LEGO Technic parts like pins and axles are slow to appear in new colours because some visually similar parts are functionally different, often represented by their colours. Bushings however have no functional variations—this might be why we've seen this part recoloured more than other LEGO Technic basics lately. In recent years its colour variations are accelerating with recent introductions of white, dark pink, and now (again) blue.

• 1x Wedge Curved 4 x 4 No Top Studs (47753 | 6424350)
• 2x Wedge Plate 3 x 3 Cut Corner (2450 | 6536558)
• 4x Brick Curved 1 x 4 x 1⅓ No Studs, Curved Top with Raised Inside Support (10314 | 6536543)

More blue parts—none as rare as the half-bushing above—are also back after a hiatus of five years or more.

Often when a part is re-released, it includes some inconsequential mould update. The 1 x 4 x 1⅓ curve (10314) was updated around 2012, but until now, old blue versions would have a lower center support similar to the grey brick (6191) on the left. The higher support allows the part to be centered on a stud, something not possible with the old versions, which were mostly found in the LEGO® Belville theme.

Nigel Mansell minifigure

One of the most legendary moustaches in motorsport is now immortalized as a LEGO minifigure. Nigel Mansell is dressed in a fire suit with printed stitching on most of it, naturally removed of its prominent Labatt's beer and Camel cigarettes logos – similar to the omission of Ayrton Senna's Marlboro sponsor. 

Mansell's helmet is also limited by LEGO printing techniques and omits his signature helmet's Union Jack-style stripes on the sides, leaving the design largely unrecognizable. The trophy is improved though, more closely matching the funnel-shaped F1 Drivers' Championship trophy.

Naturally the LEGO Icons car isn't to minifigure scale, but Nigel has a plinth to approach his larger-than-life legacy.

The underpinnings of winning

A large belly pan forms the base of the Williams FW14B. No flags are hidden in here—unlike Senna's McLaren MP4/4 LEGO set, which has multiple Brazilian flags built inside, Mansell's car gets no hidden British Union Jack treatment. That's not to say he isn't a national icon: Queen Elizabeth II awarded him the title of Commander of the Most Excellent Order in 2012 for his ongoing work as president of the charity organization UK Youth.

Another reason Easter eggs may have been eschewed is that this compact and detailed engine build sits lower in the chassis than the Honda engine in the McLaren MP4/4. The side pods are packed full of radiators and sideways connection points, leaving little leftover room.

Here the blue whips (6536556) flank the Renault RS4 V10 engine and connect the black hydraulic reservoir to the Williams FW14B's active suspension system. Gold parts throughout the engine bay and axles represent hose fittings and pushrod actuators, which allowed the race car to be an aerodynamic chimera. This system allowed Mansell and his car to drop low, sleek, and fast for long straights or bank into tight turns; a perfect marriage of man and machine, driving them both to victory.

The removable engine cover is more complex than the McLaren MP4/4's, giving the spine of the Williams a smooth and accurate shape. A bit like a Camel hump, isn't it?

The race-ready build

Now that the engine and tyres are warmed up, let's see how they work together.

With display clearly in mind for the Williams FW14B, the LEGO set includes a floating stand and UCS-style factsheet plaque. Some minor updates to the stand keep it nearly identical to the one with 10330 McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna, and while "chassis" is spelled correctly this time around, its metallic print of the real car has been downgraded to standard dark grey.

The engine cover comes off easily and some forward built-in bodywork also hides mechanical details. While not as easy to remove, the blue wedge and yellow slopes between the front suspension bulges cover a block of Moog valves and more pushrod actuators which affect the front suspension's attitude on the real race car.

Unlike the McLaren MP4/4 LEGO set's extensive printed parts, all sponsor decorations on the Williams body are stickers. Stickers remain divisive to LEGO fans—I think they're fine and provide stronger colours than prints despite the challenge of applying them—but one benefit here is the opportunity to replace TLG's sticker sheet with a more period-accurate and vice-ridden livery. Fans are quick to restore historical accuracy, with MattsBrickMOCs already offering just that.

On just the right-side wheels, the blue half-bushings represent opposite-thread lug nuts. Like many race cars, the Williams FW14B have only one nut securing each wheel in a "centerlock" arrangement. This speeds up tyre changes in the pits, saves weight, and leaves more room for powerful brake disks, but traditional right-handed threads would let the right-side wheels loosen up with driving forces.

To compensate for this, nuts on only the right side of the car use left-handed threads. Mix them up though, and you'll strip the threads off the wheel hub—possibly ending your team's race. For this reason, the real FW14B has its right wheel nuts painted blue while the other side are plain metal to differentiate them, an interesting detail captured by this set's designers with the re-released blue half-bushings (6536559).

The printed blue/white tiles (6540279) aren't perfect for the diagonal stripes next to the seat on the FW14B, since the blue is slightly lighter and they're outlined with white edges. Still, they fill a gap unbuildable with wedges or tiles and are nice geometric pieces for other builds.

No gauges or dials are in the front of the cockpit, but one of the most detailed racing harnesses in a LEGO set with Sabelt stickers and a Williams Engineering placard in the back keep Mansell's seat from being too spartan.

From above, it's evident how long the front aero on the Williams FW14B is. At the other end, the rear wing's Canon logo is split across two stickers and with some careful placement, the top half can come right up to the tile edge for near-seamless connection.

Blue Technic pins (43093) join the FW14B to the base, though if builders want to more easily separate the car, 2L axles (32062) can be used from their own collection instead.

Comparison to 10330 McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna

It's a classic red versus blue situation—a massive oversimplification of the dramatic rivalry between Williams Racing and McLaren-Honda in the late 1980s and early '90s.

For eleven straight years from 1984 to 1994, these were the only two teams to win the F1 Constructors' Championship. Not only did the teams trade winning Constructors years, top drivers in the sport were also highly sought-after. Williams Racing gained driver Alain Prost in 1993 who had driven McLaren to victory multiple times, and promptly did the same for Williams in his first and only season with them. Prost's former McLaren teammate, Ayrton Senna then took Prost's place on Williams' 1994 roster. A heartbreaking end to the controversial '94 season wrested Williams Racing and McLaren's collective grip on the sport, with the Drivers' Championship giving way to a new champion: Michael Schumacher, driving for Benetton Formula.

The backs of these cars—which are what the rest of the drivers usually saw—show a huge difference in proportions with the new properly-sized Goodyear tyres.

Trying these on the McLaren MP4/4 makes it look complete, instead of on some spare donuts.

The next lap

Matching the style set by the McLaren MP4/4 perfectly, 10353 Williams Racing FW14B & Nigel Mansell is a worthy display piece of Formula 1 history. There's no guarantee this series of historic F1 LEGO Icons cars will continue, but if it does, it begs the question of which team and driver are next. We've now got a car from 1988 and another from 1992, and assuming this time machine moves forward, much of the remaining '90s are dominated by Williams Racing.

At the turn of the millennium, a force with deep heritage had awakened from a long slumber: Scuderia Ferrari, as piloted by the gutsy Michael Schumacher. Perhaps we'll see Ferrari's rosso corsa in a future historic F1 LEGO Icons set.

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