Since 2025, we’ve been investing in the creator economy and providing a global platform to upcoming talent within Formula 1. Cool, right?
The VCARB Creator Platform offers exclusive experiences around the world for the next generation of creatives. Every race weekend, we find, inspire and champion talent within Formula 1 and share their talents with the world.
In 2026, we’ve had 30 creatives join VCARB as part of the Creator Platform, ranging from DJs to designers to videographers. One of our most popular branches of the Creator Platform is the race poster competition. Each season, we invite 24 designers to create a thematic poster in their style, with a view to them being introduced to the motorsport world at the same time.
As we approach the end of our second season of the race poster competition, we wanted to reflect on the experiences of some of the creatives involved in the Creator Platform. So we reached out to three of our race poster designers to see what they’ve been up to since working with VCARB.
Re-introducing:
Beth Rose (Madrid)
Beth is a designer based in Hull who loves shaping moments into chaotic, layered designs through colour, texture and bold typography. Her work embraces the fast-paced, almost adrenaline-fuelled nature of sport, aiming to create the same sense of energy and excitement that fans experience while watching. For the Madrid GP poster, she wanted to capture the drivers racing through the streets of Madrid as a nod to the hybrid track, contrasting vibrant colours with the city’s distinctive architecture. The composition also highlights the VCARB mechanics, referencing the fastest pit stop of the season so far and celebrating the energy and speed of the team.
Alexandra Francis (China)
Alex is an independent illustrator and graphic designer based in Greater Manchester, working on a range of projects from animation to branding. Inspired by Shanghai street food Xiaolongbao, Alex wanted to capture a flavour of the city, mixing it with a hot, steamy car that is ready to race. The poster is full of bright, bold colours and intricate line work representing the energy and vibrancy of the race. The rounded beads holding the chunky lettering are an homage to homemade friendship bracelets, often given to drivers by fans!
Sandra Jockus (Miami)
Sandra is a Lithuanian-born illustrator who developed her artistic lens while growing up in Berlin and studying fashion design in Tokyo before establishing her freelance practice in New York City. She blends a tropical, colourful aesthetic with a signature focus on fluid, organic forms. For the Miami GP, Sandra channelled the energy of the coast by rendering the track as a dynamic, flowing ribbon interwoven with bright colours, palm trees, and exotic wildlife. The composition is punctuated by a splash of sudachi limes, a nod to the vibrant yellow tones of VCARB’s special livery and a bridge between her Japanese influences and the electric atmosphere of Miami.
First up, we wanted to know what their design process and approach to the race posters look like.
Sketch in full flow© Beth Rose | @artbybethroseBeth: My process usually starts with research. For the Madrid poster, I spent time looking into the city, the circuit and the other Spanish circuits that have hosted Formula 1. I think I knew quite early on that I wanted to explore the idea of racing through the streets of Madrid and really capture that feeling. Once I've gathered my research, I start building up a composition in my head, thinking about how I can bring all those different elements together. I absolutely love a busy canvas – the busier the better! I enjoy layering different elements, textures and details to create something that feels full of energy, while still making sure there's a clear focal point.
The making of Miami ’26© Sandra Jockus | @sandrajockusSandra: My process always begins with deep immersion into the story and atmosphere of the event. I start by gathering visual references and creating quick sketches. I focus heavily on movement, flow, and composition. Once the main structure feels dynamic and balanced, I refine the linework, add colours, and polish the lighting and details so the final piece feels energetic, bold, and dreamy.
Behind China '26© Alexandra Francis | @alexefrancisAlex: After receiving the brief, I hop into research mode and mind mapping: what can I find out about the topic, and do I have any immediate ideas after reading the brief? From there, I'll focus in on a few ideas, roughly sketch a few options, and together with the client choose the strongest. After that, it's all about refining the composition and sketch, doing a style test to quickly explore colours before approval, and working up the final illustration!
Straight away, we can see there’s a pattern in their approach. Mind mapping and getting into the weeds of the culture and lifestyle of the city is a high priority for all three artists. They all wanted to capture the feeling of the city and represent that in their designs, which they all absolutely nailed.
For Beth, her poster came at a time when we had Yuki in the driver’s seat instead of Liam. We wanted to know how this affected her poster and if there were any last-minute tweaks to be made:
“I think working with motorsport means you naturally become quite adaptable because the sport moves so quickly. I like to keep up with the news, and Yuki potentially returning that weekend was something I had in the back of my mind. Luckily, I didn't have to change too much. It was mainly a case of swapping the helmet, rather than reworking the whole composition. Yuki's helmet actually fitted really nicely into the existing colour scheme, so it worked out quite perfectly in the end!”
It’s clear that planning is crucial for these kinds of designs and it definitely helped that Beth was a big F1 fan and was able to adapt to the driver swap quickly.
This got us thinking: VCARB stands out in the F1 paddock with our social-first content and engaged young audiences. We have our own style, and fans love us for it. We wanted to know if it was difficult to balance the VCARB branding and their own style in the designs. Here’s what they had to say:
Sandra: I was actually given a ton of creative freedom, it was completely up to me whether to focus on the cars, the drivers, or a broader concept. I was super lucky to create the Miami GP poster right when the team launched that special Sudachi lime livery, which was such a fun element to highlight. Of course, things like partner logos have to be accurate, but the real challenge, and the most fun part, is finding that sweet spot where technical brand requirements and your own artistic style meet.
Beth: I think the exciting part is finding ways to work within those boundaries without losing your own creative voice. I wanted the posters to represent VCARB, but also feel like my own work. I did this through my use of composition, layering, typography and colour, bringing my own illustrative style into the team's visual identity.
Alex: The VCARB brand was super flexible, but it was key to make sure the car was as realistic as possible in terms of colours and which approved logos to use. I love to inject sports projects with super traditionally feminine colours like pink, which was doable due to the lack of colour palette restrictions.
There you have it. We love to see designers flex their creative muscles. As long as the core elements are included, like logos and branding (or, in Sandra’s case, special liveries), they’re able to go wild with the designs. That’s why we’re so proud to have over 40 completely unique race posters that encapture the race weekend from the one-of-a-kind perspective of our designers.
Different cities. Different styles. Same VCARB energy.© @alexefrancis @sandrajockus @artbybethroseWhat were the inspirations behind their 2026 Creator Platform Race Poster designs?
Alex: Food! Every country has its own approach to food with distinct flavours and textures. I wanted the street food of Shanghai to be at the core of the design and reflect an aspect of the surrounding city. The typography around the Xiaolongbao was inspired by the friendship bracelets fans swap with each other on track days.
Beth: A big inspiration for the posters was wanting to create something that felt visually exciting while really showcasing the drivers. I wanted to build an environment around them that captured a little bit of Madrid, particularly through the architecture, while also including the pit crew and mechanics as a way of celebrating the wider team. I love the idea of a poster being more than just an image of a driver or a car. I want to create something that feels visually exciting and reflects the electricity of the sport. I love having really busy compositions, with lots of different elements coming together, so that the poster almost feels as fast-paced and energetic as F1 itself.
Sandra: I illustrated the Miami GP poster, and Miami for me is just pure energy, the ocean breeze, neon tones, palm trees, and that intense sun. All these elements are usually the things that inspire me, so I wanted to fuse that coastal, tropical atmosphere with the electric feel of VCARB’s Sudachi lime livery, including some typical animals like a flamingo and a green iguana. I love to include bows, so to express some flow, I transformed the bow into a flowy race track.
We were curious to hear about how they came to find their style, so we asked if they had a particular designer or reference that they look to for inspiration.
Beth: I'm not sure I have one particular designer that I look to for inspiration. I think a lot of my inspiration comes from a mixture of graphic design, and even things outside of sport. I'm really drawn to bold typography, texture, colour and compositions that feel quite chaotic. I love work that has lots going on, where you can keep looking and discover little details you might not have noticed the first time. I think that's something I try to bring into my own work.
Sandara: I actually look a lot outside of standard illustration! Coming from a background in fashion and garment design, I get super inspired by textile prints, botanical patterns, and organic shapes in nature. I also love Japanese graphic design history and vintage pop art for how fearless they are with flat colour, strong silhouettes, and bold composition.
Alex: I have folders of images filled with random inspiration from design, fashion, food, etc.! My first port of call is to sift through those and see if anything connects to my initial ideas.
We realised that this could have been the first-ever time working with an F1 team for some of our designers, so we wanted to know what that experience was like:
Alex: Clear and quick. The designs were signed off speedily due to a tight turnaround, with minor feedback meaning the illustration could be created swiftly.
Beth: Honestly, I still get a little nervous sending over that first draft! But the team is so lovely to work with and gives me a lot of creative freedom. There are always little tweaks and adjustments to make along the way, but I've found the whole process really enjoyable. They made me feel really comfortable and confident with what I'm doing, which makes such a difference when you're sharing your work with someone.
Sandra: Honestly, super smooth! I pitched initial rough sketches and colour explorations, and we had a great back-and-forth about the finer details, making sure everything is well balanced. It felt like a true collaboration where everyone was aligned on making something cool.
Finally, after all of the research, inspiration, designing, tweaking and signing off, what does it feel like to have your design shared with the VCARB fam and the wider world of F1?
Sandra was actually at the very race she designed a poster for: the Miami Grand Prix, so we can imagine it was pretty amazing to see the special Miami livery for the VCARB 03 in the flesh. She said:
“Surreal, honestly! Getting to see the artwork out in the wild, and actually being trackside at the Miami GP to feel that energy firsthand, was such a high. Racing fans are so passionate, and the reaction from the VCARB community was amazing. Since then, it’s definitely put my work in front of whole new audiences and sparked some awesome new project conversations.”
Alex: As a huge F1 fan, it was the dream brief and really exciting to see posted. I am yet to work with other F1-related media, but I would love to.
Beth: I'm always quite nervous when sharing my work, regardless of the project, so seeing it shared with the VCARB community and receiving such lovely feedback was really special. I think working with the team has definitely opened up more opportunities for me. It's helped get my work in front of new audiences and has meant I've been considered for other projects. Beyond that, it's been a really valuable experience professionally. It's helped me understand my own creative process better and build confidence in my work.
There we have it. After nearly two years of our race poster competition, over 40 upcoming designers have been selected to share their work with the world of Formula 1. Fancy a piece of that for yourself? Look out for next year’s Creator Platform opportunities!
A massive thank you to Beth, Alex and Sandra for their help with this Q&A and their experiences with the VCARB Creator Platform.
