The LEGO Group and F1 ACADEMY have announced a multi-year partnership aimed at inspiring young fans, especially girls, through creative play and representation. LEGO Racing will be represented on the F1 ACADEMY grid in the 2026 season by driver Esmee Kosterman, and the first collaborative LEGO set is available for pre-order.
Esmee Kosterman, 20, will serve as the lead driver for LEGO Racing in her first full F1 ACADEMY season in 2026. A former kart racer, Kosterman became the first woman to win in the Ford Fiesta Sprint Cup in 2023, later finishing second in the Junior Cup and third overall. In 2024 she stepped into single-seaters with Indian F4 and made her F1 ACADEMY debut as a wild-card at Round 5 in Zandvoort, her home race.
Kosterman’s car will sport a one-of-a-kind LEGO Racing livery designed by the LEGO Design team. The livery merges both brands’ colours and patterns with playful elements and a unique checkered motif, bringing LEGO’s brick-building spirit into the high-performance world of F1 ACADEMY. The car livery, the driver and the first product from the partnership were unveiled at the Las Vegas Grand Prix event by Susie Wolff, Managing Director of F1 ACADEMY; Julia Goldin, Chief Product & Marketing Officer of the LEGO Group; LEGO designers Beatrice Amoretti and Maria Jędryszek; and hosted by Ariana Bravo.
The announcement comes as Formula 1 attracts younger and more diverse audiences, with women now comprising 42% of the sport’s fanbase. Research by the LEGO Group found that 87% of girls surveyed want more opportunities for girls in motorsport, 75% find racing exciting, and 52% could see themselves as an F1 ACADEMY or race car driver. Among parents, 82% say it’s important for girls to see women represented in motorsport, though 76% feel the sport is often perceived as “more for boys.” The partnership aims to help change perceptions and encourage girls to explore motorsport interests on and off the track.
Susie Wolff said the collaboration goes beyond a model car: it’s “about building belief in what’s possible,” giving young girls a tangible way to see themselves in motorsport roles as fans, engineers, drivers or leaders. Julia Goldin added that F1 ACADEMY levels the playing field for young female athletes and that LEGO Racing will help secure female representation in racing toys for girls, hoping the mix of LEGO play and motorsport inspires the next generation.
Kosterman commented that being LEGO Racing’s first driver is an “exciting opportunity,” expressing pride in representing a brand she’s long admired and hope that the partnership inspires future female drivers.
The LEGO Speed Champions F1 ACADEMY LEGO Race Car is a 201-piece set featuring detailed aerodynamic elements, the partnership’s unique colourway and the #32 racing number matching Kosterman’s car. It includes a minifigure printed in LEGO Racing colours and aims to bring the excitement of F1 ACADEMY into the home. The set is available for pre-order from LEGO.com and select retailers and will be on shelves in LEGO Stores worldwide from March 1, 2026.
As part of the inaugural F1 ACADEMY weekend at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the LEGO Group will present custom LEGO Botanicals Bouquets to the podium finishers of both Race 1 and Race 2. Each bouquet is built from nearly 2,000 LEGO elements and weighs close to 1 kg, celebrating what can be achieved when talent is given opportunity and platform.