Joining the F1 Academy Dutch GP grid as a Wild Card entry with TeamViewer, Esmee Kosterman put her best foot forward, securing points by the end of the weekend. This marked her as the first Wild Card of the 2025 season to score points.
Scoring six points at the Dutch GP put Kosterman into P13 in the 2025 F1 Academy Championship Standings. This places her higher than five of the drivers on the full time grid.
An honour to race at her home Grand Prix
As a Dutch woman herself, Kosterman describes the weekend as an honour to participate in. She said “It’s such an honour to drive as the Wild Card here at my home track with TeamViewer”.
Kosterman went into the final race on Sunday with a new mindset and allowed her driving to do the talking. She describes the experience as brilliant, although acknowledges that as the track conditions worsen, you need to adapt your style.
The Dutch woman explained that from Lap 6, grip got majorly worse. She was no longer able to get the car rotated. Despite this, the race was enjoyable for her, and produce a strong result.
“This weekend was the best weekend I’ve had in my whole life! So many things happened at the same time. It’s so busy and you get so much energy from everybody. It’s so, so good.
“Today I went in with a fresh mindset and starting from my grid position of P9, I finished P7 so I overtook two girls. It’s brilliant to drive here but every single lap you need to change your mind because the track conditions are getting worse and worse so you need to know what to do with the car.
“After Lap 6, the grip was getting worse so I wasn’t able to rotate the car anymore so you need to know what to do then. It was quite fun to drive in it. I saw the group in front of me and thought ‘I can catch them’ so I was quite happy with it.”
A large opportunity for her career
It was clear to Kosterman how crucial this opportunity could prove to be for her career. With little opportunity for women in motorsport, every opportunity counts. This opportunity so happened to occur on the international stage of a Formula 1 weekend.
Naturally, Kosterman grabbed the opportunity and did the best she could with what she was given. She remains grateful for a competition created for women, and hopes to be an inspiration to the younger generation.
“It’s a really big opportunity because there are not a lot of opportunities for women in this sport. I know the boys are getting more opportunities so I’m so happy that F1 ACADEMY is here to give us this opportunity.
“I took it with both hands and I’m so grateful that they made this competition for women. I hope I can inspire women in motorsport. I was there as a little child in the same sport.”
