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Supermini F1: Grand Prix racing goes pint-sized

As the Australian Grand Prix kicks off the 2018 Formula One season, we've been having a bit of fun coming up with some radical new technical rules of our own for the sport. What if every team had to base their car on the smallest and cheapest model in their associated brand's road-car range?

We're assuming they'd still do everything they could to get around the track as fast as possible, so our collection of pocket rockets features the wide tyres, big wings and powerful engines of real F1 car, as well as those familiar sponsor liveries. But at their heart they're models you're more likely to see in Sainsburys than Silverstone.

We're sure every driver on the grid would have a blast trying to extract maximum performance from these diminutive creations – and it would probably be pretty entertaining to watch, too. So read on for a selection of crazy creations from our 'Supermini F1' grid…

Ferrari's Fiat 500 Fiat has produced special-edition cars inspired by sister brand Ferrari's F1 drivers before, but this wild 500 is in a different league entirely, making even the fearsome Abarth 500 hot hatch look tame. Even the '
Red Bull's Aston Martin Cygnet Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were probably looking forward to their new company cars when Red Bull's tie-up with British brand Aston Martin was announced, but our supermini concept sees them dri
Sauber's Alfa Romeo MiTo Swiss team Sauber is backed by Alfa Romeo for 2018, making the Italian brand's stylish MiTo supermini the ideal candidate for conversion into an F1 track weapon. A radically lowered ride height and minimal,
Toro Rosso's Honda S660 Toro Rosso's switch to Honda power for 2018 is the ideal opportunity to go crazy with the legendary brand's Japan-market-only S660 drop-top sports car. The tiny mid-engined machine should be very agile in the
Mercedes-AMG's Smart Car We're not sure what Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas would make of having to pilot Mercedes sister brand Smart's snub-nosed city car – it's certainly a lot less sleek than their regular steed. But that sho