Topps Chrome Formula 1: Set Guide
A collector's guide to Topps Chrome Formula 1 — the chromium flagship of the licensed F1 program, its refractor rainbow and numbered parallels, and where the strongest Kimi Antonelli rookie value sits.
Topps Chrome Formula 1 is the chromium flagship of the licensed F1 trading-card program — and for a modern collector, it’s the set that matters most. Because Topps holds the official Formula 1 license, every Antonelli Chrome card is a licensed issue, and this is the line where the refractor rainbow, numbered parallels, and the strongest rookie-card value all live.
Why Chrome sits at the top
Formula 1 has no paper flagship base set — unlike baseball, there is no paper Topps F1 checklist that Chrome then re-renders on chromium. In F1, Chrome is the base set, and everything else in the program is either derived from its checklist (Sapphire, LogoFractor) or a separate premium product with a checklist of its own. If you’ve read otherwise, see why there is no paper F1 flagship.
The 2025 edition runs a 200-card base checklist: cards 1–72 are F1, F2 and F3 drivers, then the rest is split across F1 Cars, Grand Prix Winners, Pole Position, Grand Prix Driver Of The Day, F1 Award Winners, F1 Legends, F1 Duo Cards, F1 Team Logo Cards, F1 On The Move and F1 Team Principals. It’s sold in Hobby boxes and Value Blasters — the retail format matters, because it means a base Antonelli is a genuinely cheap card.
The refractor rainbow, with the actual 2025 print runs
Every one of those 200 cards is part of the parallel rainbow, which in the main 2025 release runs to at least 30 options. The numbered ladder, verified against the published checklist:
| Parallel | Print run |
|---|---|
| Refractor · B&W Ray Wave · B&W Lazer · Checker Flag | unnumbered |
| Teal Refractor | /299 |
| Pink Refractor · Pink Checker Flag | /250 |
| Aqua Refractor · Aqua Checker Flag | /199 |
| Blue Refractor · Blue RayWave · Blue Checker Flag | /150 |
| Green Refractor · Green RayWave · Green Checker Flag | /99 |
| F1 75th Anniversary Refractor | /75 |
| Gold Refractor · Gold RayWave · Gold Checker Flag | /50 |
| Orange Refractor · Orange RayWave · Orange Checker Flag | /25 |
| Black Refractor · Black RayWave · Black Checker Flag | /10 |
| Red Refractor · Red RayWave · Red Checker Flag | /5 |
| SuperFractor · Printing Plates (Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Black) | 1/1 |
Source: the 2025 Topps Chrome Formula 1 checklist and odds published by checklistinsider.com. Earlier years run different colours and counts — read the serial stamp, not the colour name.
Above the numbered ladder sit 10 super-short-print base Image Variations (roughly 1:2,881 packs). For the full walk through how refractors work — base vs. refractor vs. parallel, the unnumbered-parallel trap, why chromium is harder to grade — see our refractors & parallels guide. The online-exclusive Chrome F1 Sapphire edition reuses this same base checklist on Sapphire stock with its own separate ladder.
Where Antonelli fits — his actual card numbers
Kimi Antonelli’s RC-designated cards are from 2025, his first full Mercedes-AMG Petronas season. In that 200-card base checklist he is:
- #8 — F1 Drivers (RC). The base rookie, and the card most listings mean. There is also a super-short-print Image Variation of #8.
- #80 — F1 Cars (RC).
- #167 — F1 Duo Cards, paired with George Russell.
- #185 — F1 On The Move (RC).
He also runs deep through the 2025 inserts: Futuro FUT-2, Helix HLX-8, Helmet Collection HC-1, Neon Nations NN-4, Speed Demons SD-1, The Grid TG-2, Top Speed TS-4, Vegas at Night VGS-3, F1 75 Anniversary Logo LOGO-12, Diamond 75th Anniversary D75-8 and D75-28, plus the one-of-one F1 Diamond Anniversary Relic DR-8 — a card with a genuine diamond embedded in it.
One thing most Antonelli pages get wrong: 2025 is not his first Topps Chrome F1 appearance. He is #22 (F2 Drivers) and #94 (F2 Cars) in 2024 Topps Chrome Formula 1, issued during his Formula 2 season. Those are prospect cards, not rookie cards — but they’re real, licensed, and they predate the crowd.
Chrome autos — what actually exists
Antonelli’s verified 2025 Chrome F1 signatures are CAC-ANT (Chrome Autographs, a set spanning 60-plus names), FUT-ANT (Futuro Autographs, roughly 1:4,315 Hobby packs) and D75A-KIM (Diamond 75th Anniversary Autographs).
The caveat that matters at the high end: in 2025 the separate Hobby-only On-Card Chrome Autographs set contains exactly one driver — Lewis Hamilton. So if a listing sells you an Antonelli 2025 Chrome autograph as “on-card from the hobby-exclusive set”, that framing is wrong. His genuine Chrome autographs are the three sets above.
His first Chrome autograph predates the rookie year entirely: CAC-ANT also appears in 2024 Topps Chrome Formula 1 and 2024 Chrome Sapphire F1, alongside a Speed Demons Signatures Padparadscha 1/1 (SDS-AKA) in the 2024 Sapphire edition.
For the ultra-premium end — genuine autographed race-used relics — see the Dynasty line and the autographs & chrome guide.
How to actually buy it
Singles, refractors, autos, and graded slabs from Chrome F1 trade on eBay, not Amazon — so search the live market rather than trusting one asking price. Use the buttons above to open current listings for each type, then filter to “Sold items” for real comps. For anything at a serious price point, buy it graded (PSA or SGC) so the parallel, condition, and authenticity are locked in — and run the numbers first with our free grading ROI calculator.
New here? Start with Antonelli’s rookie cards guide, understand what drives value, or read the collecting guide for spotting fakes before you spend real money.
Find cards from this set on eBay
Singles, parallels, and graded slabs from this set trade on eBay — these open live listings for each. Filter to "Sold items" for real comps, and buy graded (PSA or SGC) at serious price points.