Is There a Topps Formula 1 Paper Flagship? What the F1 Base Set Actually Is
Formula 1 has no annual paper flagship base set the way baseball does. Topps Chrome Formula 1 is the F1 program's base set — here's the real structure, and the cheapest genuine way to own a Kimi Antonelli card.
If you have come here looking for the paper Topps Formula 1 flagship base set, the honest answer is the one nobody writes down: it does not exist. Formula 1 does not work the way baseball does, and assuming it does is how collectors end up hunting a set that was never printed.
The F1 program has no paper base set
In baseball, Topps issues a paper flagship (Series 1 and 2) and then re-renders the same photos and card numbers on chromium as Topps Chrome. Almost every guide to F1 collecting quietly copies that structure across. It doesn’t hold.
In Formula 1, Topps Chrome Formula 1 is itself the base set. The 2025 edition is a 200-card base checklist — the first 72 cards covering F1, F2 and F3 drivers, then F1 Cars, Grand Prix Winners, Pole Position, Driver Of The Day, Award Winners, Legends, Duo Cards, Team Logos, On The Move and Team Principals — with the full parallel rainbow stacked on top of it. There is no paper edition of that checklist. (Source: the 2025 Topps Chrome Formula 1 checklist published by checklistinsider.com.)
Everything else Topps issues for F1 is a separate product with its own checklist, not a parallel of some paper original:
- Topps Chrome F1 Sapphire — the one genuine exception: Sapphire does reuse the Chrome base checklist, on Sapphire stock, as an online-exclusive.
- Topps Chrome LogoFractor F1 — another Chrome-derived online edition.
- Topps Eccellenza F1 — a premium, low-card-count product. The 2025 edition has a 150-card base/insert checklist with no card numbers at all, split into ten Italian-named subsets.
- Topps Lights Out F1 — an online-exclusive with a 57-card checklist, also unnumbered.
- Topps Dynasty Formula 1 — one autographed relic card per box; no base set whatsoever.
- Topps F1 Turbo Attax — the retail card game, on paper stock, with its own huge checklist.
- Topps Now Formula 1 — print-to-order singles tied to race moments.
Two of those — Eccellenza and Lights Out — are printed on paper rather than chromium, which is probably where the “paper flagship” idea comes from. Neither is a base set in the flagship sense: both are premium, limited, online-sold products with unnumbered checklists.
So what should you actually buy first?
There are two defensible answers, depending on what you mean by “cheapest”.
Cheapest licensed Antonelli card of any kind — Topps F1 Turbo Attax. The retail card game is printed in enormous quantity and sold in supermarkets. A common Antonelli base card costs pocket money. It is fully licensed; it is simply a game product rather than a hobby one. Full detail in the Turbo Attax set guide.
Cheapest card that carries his rookie designation — 2025 Topps Chrome Formula 1 base #8. In the 2025 Chrome checklist Antonelli’s base card is #8 in the F1 Drivers subset, printed with an RC mark. He also appears at #80 (F1 Cars, RC), #167 (F1 Duo Cards, with George Russell) and #185 (F1 On The Move, RC). Chrome F1 is sold in Value Blaster retail boxes as well as Hobby boxes, so the base card is genuinely attainable — you are not forced into a Hobby box to own one.
That is the real entry point, and it is a chromium card, because in F1 the entry point is chromium.
How to read a listing that says “Topps Formula 1”
Sellers use the phrase loosely. When you see it with no further product name, check the card itself against three possibilities:
- A Topps Chrome F1 card — mirrored, reflective stock, a card number in the 1–200 range for 2025. This is the most common case by far.
- A Topps Now card — a single card commemorating a specific dated race moment, sold print-to-order. These are frequently listed as just “Topps F1”.
- A Turbo Attax game card — matte paper, a team or subset name printed on the front, part of a 353-card 2026 checklist.
None of these is a paper flagship, and the distinction matters because the three trade at completely different levels.
Condition, centering, and grading
Because the accessible Antonelli cards are chromium rather than paper, they grade harder than a paper rookie would: edge chipping and silvering, surface hairlines and print lines all show on chrome stock. If you’re weighing a raw card for submission, run it through our free card centering tool first, then check whether the grade clears the fee with the grading ROI calculator. For anything at a serious price, buy it already graded (PSA or SGC) so condition and authenticity are locked in.
How to actually buy it
Base cards, parallels, autos, and graded slabs 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 before you spend.
New here? Start with Antonelli’s rookie cards guide, understand what drives value, or read the full collecting guide for spotting fakes before you spend real money. See the release calendar for what’s out and what’s next.
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.