The world of women’s motorsport is preparing to experience an unprecedented chromatic and symbolic revolution. Starting from the 2026 season, LEGO will take to the track with an official team in F1 Academy, the international category dedicated to young female drivers. The announcement came in the most spectacular context possible: the pit lane of the Las Vegas street circuit, during the weekend of the 2025 Formula 1 Grand Prix, where the glamor of the Strip was the setting for a partnership destined to change the face of female representation in motorsports.
The search for visibility for female athletes in motorsport today passes through new channels and strategies that go far beyond simple competition on the track. LEGO Racing was born with this philosophy: not just sponsorship, but a true educational project that uses the universal language of gaming to break down stereotypes and build aspirations. The choice to enter the F1 Academy with a complete structure, which includes a single-seater, official driver and even a dedicated Speed Champions set, represents a cultural investment even before a sporting one.
LEGO Racing debuts in F1 Academy
At the wheel of car #32 – a figure that pays homage to 1932, the year the Danish company was founded – will be Esmee Kosterman, a twenty-year-old Dutchman whose CV already speaks an international language. The first woman to win the Ford Fiesta Sprint Cup in 2023, Kosterman moved through the junior and single-seater categories of Indian F4 before sampling the F1 Academy as a Wild Card at the home round in Zandvoort in 2024. The choice to entrust her with the debut of LEGO Racing is no coincidence: we need a face that embodies both emerging talent and the ability to inspire a generation.
Censuswide research for LEGO
The collaboration between LEGO and F1 Academy is based on data that tells a reality often ignored by traditional media. Independent research conducted by Censuswide on a sample of 8,000 people between the United Kingdom and the United States – 4,000 parents and 4,000 girls aged between 9 and 16 – revealed that 75% of young people interviewed find car racing exciting. Not only that: over half of them, 52%, can imagine themselves in the role of a driver, while 82% of parents consider the presence of female role models in motor sports to be fundamental.
The survey, conducted between 24 and 30 October 2025 following the rigorous standards of the Market Research Society and ESOMAR principles, photographs a latent demand that is just waiting to be satisfied. Girls want to see women on the track, they want to believe that that space can be theirs. And parents are ready to support them. In this context, the presence of the LEGO brand – a global synonym for accessible creativity – takes on a meaning that transcends sport.
LEGO Racing and F1 Academy on track
The livery that will color Kosterman’s single-seater blends the brand’s iconic motifs with contemporary racing aesthetics, creating a design that simultaneously communicates with children who build with bricks and with motorsport enthusiasts. Present during the presentation in Las Vegas were Susie Wolff, CEO of F1 Academy, Julia Goldin, Chief Product & Marketing Officer of LEGO, as well as the designers who developed the project: the Italian Beatrice Amoretti and Maria Jędryszek, flanked by presenter Ariana Bravo of Channel 4.
The team that will host LEGO Racing will be Hitech TGR, where the acronym TGR stands for Toyota Gazoo Racing, the motorsport division of the Japanese car manufacturer. An important technical partnership, which guarantees the young Kosterman a professional and competitive structure. The Dutch driver commented on her new role with words that perfectly summarize the spirit of the initiative: being the first LEGO Racing driver represents an exciting opportunity to inspire future generations of female drivers.
The F1 Academy, a category created precisely to offer young athletes a structured path towards professional motorsport, finds a strategic ally in this collaboration. The league isn’t limited to competition: it actively works to break down cultural barriers and create real connections between emerging talent and opportunities at the highest levels. The fact that women now represent 42% of Formula 1 fans shows that the public is ready, but we need figures with whom they can identify.
The new LEGO Speed Champions set
To crown the event, LEGO announced that during the first F1 Academy weekend at the Las Vegas Grand Prix it will deliver special bouquets made with around 2,000 elements from the Botanicals line to the winners of the two races. A symbolic gesture that replaces traditional flowers with constructions that last over time, just as the inspirations generated by this initiative are hoped to last.
The project is completed with the launch of the LEGO Speed Champions F1 ACADEMY LEGO Race Car set, code 77258, made up of 201 pieces and intended for builders aged 10 and over. The model faithfully reproduces the number 32 car with the new LEGO Racing livery and includes the Esmee Kosterman minifigure complete with official helmet.
Features of the set
Code: 77258
Age: 10+
Price: €27.99
Pieces: 201
Dimensions: 4cm high, 7cm wide and 18cm long
Availability: March 1, 2026 (pre-order already active)
Purchase link: lego.com
Pre-order is already active.
