1/43 Model Review: 2019 Drivers First Wins

Charles Leclerc won his first Grand Prix at the Belgian Grand Prix, and although the F1 Youtube channel has already done a list, we have a good selection of 1/43 models commemorating these first victories.

Kimi Raikkonen - 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix

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Kimi Raikkonen came into F1 with Sauber with very little car racing experience, but he soon impressed enough to replace Hakkinen in McLaren for 2002 earning a couple of podium finishes. It wasn't until the send race of 2003 in Malaysia would Kimi earn his first victory having started in seventh place. Though this would be his only victory that year, he would earn 7 second place finishes and challenge Schumacher for the championship, finishing just 2 points behind the German's Ferrari.

I can't remember exactly, but I think this was the first Minichamps models with a standing driver figure in the cockpit and the steering wheel on top of the cockpit. For me, this was an elegant looking car, and the livery just suited it so well.

Lewis Hamilton - 2007 Canadian Grand Prix

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It's somewhat unheard of today to have a rookie debut in a Championship contending car. In reality, the spotlight was meant to be on double-world champion Alonso leading the team, giving Hamilton time to find his feet, and after comfortably shadowing his team-mate for the first few races, Hamilton began to beat this more experienced team-mate, winning impressively from pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix.

There's nothing particularly special about the model that htey produced, though it does have a low downforce rear wing set up which is nice, but there's no fist raised or anything.

Robert Kubica - 2008 Canadian Grand Prix

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In the aforementioned Canadian Grand Prix, Robert Kubica had a humongous crash, running onto the marbles, before being pitched into the air, smashing the barriers, his car being broken into hundreds of pieces and the monocoque barrel rolling several times. Everyone held their breath as an eerie silence fell around the circuit. Thankfully the Pole was OK, though he missed a race, and 2008 was Kubica's most competitive season to this day. There was a bit of chaos at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix, a red light at the end of the pitlane catching out Hamilton and Rosberg, with Raikkonen the victim as these race-winning hopefuls retired. Kubica won the race and propelled himself into Championship contention, but the BMW team refused to develop the car in the second half of the year and his chances faded.

Again, we get quite a bog standard model to commemorate the victory, but we get a Canadian GP spec shape, most notably without those nose horns they ran for the majority of the year. 2008 was getting a bit out of hand with aero devices and BMW and McLaren were amongst the worst for adding flips and vanes and horns all over the car, but Minichamps have done a good job in representing all these intricate parts before the trend of resin models.

Sebastien Vettel - 2008 Italian Grand Prix

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Vettel had already impressed in a BMW in the 2007 USA Grand Prix before finishing the season at Toro Rosso, but 2008 was his first full season. Back when Red Bull and Toro Rosso's essentially raced the same cars, the only difference being the power units, the Renault in the Red Bull and the Ferrari in the Toro Rosso. The Ferrari was the more competitive engine that year and it wasn't uncommon for Vettel to beat the senior team at a few races. At a damp Italian Grand Prix, Vettel sensationally took pole position on merit. Nobody really expected him to finish there in the race, but he did, and Vettel claimed Toro Rosso's only win to date. A promotion to the senior team followed in 2009.

The Minichamps model comes with wet tyres, it's got nice wheel rims and the decals look fantastic. This was one of my first models that I bought when I started my collection in earnest around 2009, and it was also around my most active time in GP4 too.

Daniel Ricciardo - 2014 Canadian Grand Prix

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When Webber retired at the end of 2013, it was a bit of a surprise that Ricciardo was named as his replacement, but as it turned out, Ricciardo had the beating of four-time World Champion Vettel in the sister Red Bull, in an impressive break-out year. Ricciardo never seems to win straight forward races, but with both Mercedes struggling with brake temperatures, Ricciardo overtook Perez and then Rosberg to earn his first victory.

I did own the Spark alternative to this, but I preferred the Minichamps model overall, though the models were quite similar and had their own pros. For me, the paint finish and decal quality won me over to the Minichamps version. Again it would have been nice to have a fist raised or something to make this model stand out a bit more, but as a model, I have no real complaints.

Max Verstappen - 2016 Spanish Grand Prix

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Max Verstappen had already impressed people with his speed and maturity and Red Bull made a bold move in moving him into the Red Bull seat after just four races completed. At the next race in Spain, the two Mercedes collided and it was seemed as though Vettel and Ricciardo were left to battle for victory as Verstappen and Raikkonen battled a little behind them. But as it turned out, Verstappen and Raikkonen were on the better strategy and Max withheld pressure from Raikkonen all race to earn his first victory on his debut run in the Red Bull.

My problem was that there were so many Minichamps versions of this model. At the time, Verstappen models were trading at high prices, but if you produce too much, it really reduces the value of each model long term. Anyway, this model is how the car crossed the finish line, fist raisd, missing camera and white-walled tyres. 

Valtteri Bottas - 2017 Russian Grand Prix

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After the shocking retirement of Nico Rosberg, Mercedes quickly moved for Valterri Bottas to fill the second Mercedes seat. In just his fourth race for the team, he took victory at the Russian Grand Prix, withstanding pressure from Vettel.

I suppose in fitting with Bottas' non-flashy character, this model doesn't have a special cardboard overlay, nor any pictures of the Russian GP, it's just simple and understated. The only hint that this is a special model is on the description, 1st Win, Russian GP 2017.