LEGO Icons 11375 Ferrari remakes a set, 28 years later

The new LEGO Icons 11375 Ferrari F2004 & Michael Schumacher is essentially a remake of a 28-year-old set, proving how far we have come.

The third Formula 1 tribute build, following 10330 McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna and 10353 Williams Racing FW14B & Nigel Mansell, is now confirmed to be 11375 Ferrari F2004 & Michael Schumacher, launching on March 1, 2026, for £79.99 / $89.99 / €89.99. Looking past the exclusive Michael Schumacher minifigure, the LEGO Icons Ferrari build is essentially a remake of a set released 28 years ago.

Timing with the Ferrari Model F300 from the 1998 Formula One World Championship, 1998's 2556 Ferrari Formula 1 Racing Car is inspired by another vehicle driven by Michael Schumacher in his racing career. While not quite the same as the vehicle which inspired 11375 Ferrari F2004 & Michael Schumacher, there are more than enough similarities to warrant a comparison and see just how LEGO design has come in 28 years.

The two sets are of a similar size, but there are 155 more elements in the 2026 model. This is due to the increased detail achieved by the greater number of smaller elements, from slopes to plates. This echoes the fact that 11375 Ferrari F2004 & Michael Schumacher is designed for an older audience, while 2556 Ferrari Formula 1 Racing Car was released at a time when adult-aimed builds were unheard of.

Despite this change in demographic for the LEGO Group, 2556 Ferrari Formula 1 Racing Car features all the necessary details and some innovative building techniques for the time, such as using inverted slopes to capture curves as accurately as possible.

That's a level of realism expected of 11375 Ferrari F2004 & Michael Schumacher, which acts as the third in a series of sets paying tribute to racing history. This only goes to show just how different 2556 Ferrari Formula 1 Racing Car was for the time.

On the subject of accuracy and realism, 2556 Ferrari Formula 1 Racing Car features layered plates and tiles to capture the overall shape of the car, which is satisfactory but doesn't quite compare to that of 11375 Ferrari F2004 & Michael Schumacher.

This demonstrates how the LEGO parts portfolio evolved over nearly three decades, allowing the LEGO Group to improve on the fundamentals of building accurate recreations. Despite this, the parts from the two sets are still compatible with one another.

The tyres between the two cars differ in size because of the different regulations for Formula 1 at their respective times, but it's worth noting that only 11375 Ferrari F2004 & Michael Schumacher is wholly accurate. The new set remedies an issue with previous models by using a new tyre element with visible treads to most accurately depict the tyres from the F2004.

Those of the F300 were wider at the back, where they are depicted at the same size as the front tyres in 2556 Ferrari Formula 1 Racing Car. The key difference here, though, is that 2556 Ferrari Formula 1 Racing Car is not specifically named after the F300, but is only inspired by it.

Both sets rely on a mix of stickers and prints to capture the livery, but there are 30 stickers in 2556 Ferrari Formula 1 Racing Car and a whopping 40 in 11375 Ferrari F2004 & Michael Schumacher. To be fair, though, there are also more sponsors and other details captured with those additional 10 stickers. Just look at how three stickers are used on the front left of the wing in the 1998 model, compared to the four in the 2026 build.

This pattern continues throughout the 2026 set, with more stickers plastered across the set than there were in 1998. This ties back into the fact that 11375 Ferrari F2004 & Michael Schumacher is aimed at an older audience, who will demand and appreciate a higher level of detail.

That's not to say that 2556 Ferrari Formula 1 Racing Car is lacking, though. It still features the steering wheel, driver's seat and engine with a good amount of accuracy for fans to appreciate. 11375 Ferrari F2004 & Michael Schumacher has built on this with more stickers and prints across these sections, but the engines are especially comparable despite the 28 years of difference.

There's overall more space in the engine bay of 11375 Ferrari F2004 & Michael Schumacher, but at their core, this aspect of the models is much more similar in terms of detail than any other aspect of the build. Similar techniques and angled elements are used throughout the space, in spite of the fact that the 2026 set benefits from a larger part portfolio than was available in 1998.

At the end of the day, 11375 Ferrari F2004 & Michael Schumacher is as much of an improvement as you'd expect over a set that turns 28 years old this year, but 2556 Ferrari Formula 1 Racing Car can sufficiently hold its own against the 2026 release. On display, the two only benefit each other to show just how far LEGO building, elements and techniques have come over nearly three decades.

While 2556 Ferrari Formula 1 Racing Car is now retired, LEGO Icons 11375 Ferrari F2004 & Michael Schumacher is available to pre-order on LEGO.com for £79.99 / $89.99 / €89.99, ahead of its launch on March 1.

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