Today, in the pitlane of the Las Vegas Strip Circuit at the FORMULA 1 LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX 2025, the LEGO Group and F1 ACADEMY announced an exciting multi-year partnership to inspire young fans, especially girls, through creative play and representation.
As part of this collaboration, the LEGO Group will be represented on the F1 ACADEMY grid starting with the 2026 F1 ACADEMY season, with LEGO Racing, piloted by driver Esmee Kosterman at the wheel. Additionally, the LEGO Group and F1 ACADEMY revealed their first LEGO set together, now available for pre-order.
In 2026 Kosterman will serve as the premiere driver for LEGO Racing during her first full season in F1 ACADEMY. The 20-year-old Dutch driver has a rich history in the kart racing circuit and became the first woman to win in the Ford Fiesta Sprint Cup series in 2023, before going on to finish second in the Junior Cup and third in the overall standings. In 2024, Kosterman moved into single seaters with Indian F4 and made her F1 ACADEMY debut as the Wild Card entry at Round 5 of the season in Zandvoort, her home race.
Kosterman’s car features a one-of-a-kind LEGO Racing livery, infusing the high-performance world of F1 ACADEMY with elements of LEGO play. The livery, created by the LEGO Design team, represents both entities through colors and patterns, merged in a playful way bringing the thrill of brick building and racing to life, with a unique checkered pattern.
The stunning, merged livery of the car, the driver and the first product from the partnership were revealed at the Las Vegas event by Susie Wolff, Managing Director at F1 ACADEMY, Julia Goldin, Chief Product & Marketing Officer at the LEGO Group, LEGO designers Beatrice Amoretti and Maria Jędryszek and hosted by Ariana Bravo.
This comes at a time where F1 is attracting new and younger audiences, with 42% of the Formula 1’s fanbase now consisting of women. Recent research by the LEGO Group shows that 87% of girls surveyed would like to see more opportunities for girls in motorsport, 75% think racing sounds exciting, while 52% could see themselves as an F1 ACADEMY™ or race car driver one day. At the same time, 82% of parents surveyed think it’s important for girls to see women represented in motorsport, but 76% think motorsport is often perceived as “more for boys”.
With this new partnership, the LEGO Group and F1 Academy hope to inspire young fans, especially girls to explore their motor racing passions, both on and off the track.
Julia Goldin, Chief Product & Marketing Officer of the LEGO Group, said: “F1 ACADEMY is levelling the playing field in motorsport, giving young female athletes a clear pathway to achieve their dreams in the top tiers of the sport. We can’t wait to see LEGO Racing join the F1 ACADEMY grid and are so excited to have Esmee as our driver. For the first time, fans can hold their favorite F1 ACADEMY LEGO car in their hands, and I’m thrilled that we’re securing female representation in racing toys for young girls. We hope the infusion of LEGO play and creativity to this exciting sport inspires the next generation of young women in motorsport, as well as the female builders of tomorrow, that anything is possible.”
The LEGO Group also unveiled the LEGO Speed Champions F1 ACADEMY LEGO Race Car, the 201-piece set allows fans of LEGO Racing to hold their favorite car in their hands, and features intricate aerodynamic details, with the unique colorway and the #32 racing number, as featured on Esmee’s real on-track counterpart.
Additionally, the set is accompanied by a minifigure printed in a LEGO Racing colorway. The set brings F1 ACADEMY to life like never before, bringing the excitement from the track to the living room, reflecting the two brands commitment to championing female talent on and off the track.
As part of the first ever F1 ACADEMY weekend at the FORMULA 1® LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX, the LEGO Group will be presenting the podium finishers of both Race 1 and Race 2, with custom LEGO Botanicals Bouquets in a moment that celebrates what is possible when talent is given the opportunity and platform to thrive. Each bouquet is built out of close to 2,000 LEGO elements and weighs close to 1 kg.
The LEGO Speed Champions F1 ACADEMY LEGO Race Car is available for pre-order now from LEGO.com and select global retailers, with the set hitting shelves starting 1st March 2026 in LEGO Stores worldwide.
Esmee Kosterman, Driver for LEGO Racing, said: “To be the first driver for LEGO Racing is such an exciting opportunity, and I can’t wait to continue my racing journey with F1 ACADEMY. I’ve long been a fan of the LEGO brand, its creativity and what it stands for and to bring it to the track from the 2026 season onwards is incredible. I hope this inspires future generations of female drivers, that with hard work and determination, anything is possible!”
