Minichamps 1:43 McLaren MCL36 – Oscar Piastri, Abu Dhabi Test 2022 Art. 537224328

A 1:43 model of the McLaren MCL36 as driven by Oscar Piastri at the Abu Dhabi post-season test in 2022 — his first laps in a McLaren. Limited to 192 pieces worldwide, the smallest run in this range. Resin, papaya orange, on a display base with a clear case and official McLaren packaging.

A model of a test session is an unusual object

Manufacturers make models of races. A test is not a race: there is no result, no crowd, no television broadcast to speak of, and the car often carries no number.

They get produced anyway when the session itself is the event — and the Abu Dhabi test of November 2022 was one of those. It was the first time Oscar Piastri drove for McLaren, three months after the contract dispute with Alpine had been settled in his favour by the sport's tribunal, and it was watched with a level of interest no young driver test normally attracts.

He had spent the entire 2022 season as a reserve, not racing at all, having won Formula 2 the year before. This was the end of that.

192 pieces

A test model has a natural audience of precisely the people who follow one driver closely, which makes it a small print run by definition. 192 is the smallest edition in this Minichamps range.

The models that become genuinely hard to find are rarely the famous ones.

In the range

Set 537234381 is Piastri's MCL60 from his actual Formula One debut at Bahrain in 2023.

Specifications

Scale: 1:43 · Limited to 192 pieces worldwide · Resin · Display base, clear case, official McLaren packaging
Model length: approx. 13 cm