2026 F1 Sim Racing World Championship
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Game | F1 25 |
| Location | Event 1: Birmingham Events 2-4: Biggin Hill |
| Dates | 27 March 2026–28 May 2026 |
| Administrator | Codemasters EA Sports Formula One Management |
The 2026 F1 Sim Racing World Championship is an esports competition for Formula One which is the ninth season of the Formula One Esports Series and the third to be named as the "Formula One Sim Racing World Championship." It is being held on Formula One's official 2025 game, featuring nine of the eleven teams from the real-life sport, with Audi and Cadillac opting not to participate.[a] The championship started on 27 March 2026 and ends on 28 May 2026.[2]
Jarno Opmeer and Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing enter the season as the defending champions, having both won their third titles in the 2025 campaign.
Format
The drivers race in a series of four LAN events that are broadcast live. They earn points for themselves and their teams, following the official F1 points system, plus a bonus point being given for pole position and another for the driver who set the fastest lap in the top 10. These points determine the F1 Sim Racing World Championship Teams’ and Drivers’ World Champions, with a total $750,000 prize fund.
Prize pool
A prize fund of $750,000 is awarded to the teams at the end of the season.[2] This differs from previous seasons in which a portion of the prize fund was awarded to the drivers ($100,000 in 2025), this year the entire fund is awarded to the teams.
Teams' Championship
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winnings | $127,777 | $107,777 | $92,777 | $82,777 | $77,777 | $72,777 | $67,777 | $62,777 | $57,777 |
Coverage
The series is broadcast live on Formula One's official YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook channels, as well as Event 1 being open to the public to watch at DreamHack Birmingham.[2]
Entries
| Team | Race drivers | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Driver name | Rounds | |
| Alpine Sim Racing | 15 | Dani Bereznay | 1-4, 6-7, 9-12 |
| 45 | Otis Lawrence | All | |
| 51 | Josh Idowu | 5, 8 | |
| Aston Martin Aramco Esports | 26 | Duncan Hofland | 1, 3-4, 6, 8-10, 12 |
| 88 | Jan Haladej | 2, 5, 7, 11 | |
| 93 | Rubén Pedreño | All | |
| McLaren F1 Sim Racing | 25 | Jake Benham | All |
| 41 | Alfie Butcher | All | |
| 42 | Wilson Hughes | - | |
| Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Esports | 11 | Julian Klaffenböck | 1-4, 6-7, 9-10 |
| 39 | Thomas Ronhaar | All | |
| 74 | Tycho Hardy | 5, 8, 11-12 | |
| TGR Haas F1 Sim Racing | 34 | Tamás Gál | 1-8, 10-12 |
| 36 | Joris Croezen | All | |
| 71 | Gábor Csontos | 9 | |
| Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing | 13 | Sebastian Job | - |
| 67 | Frederik Rasmussen | All | |
| 89 | Jarno Opmeer | All | |
| Racing Bulls F1 Sim Racing | 2 | Tom Manley | 1-8, 10-11 |
| 51 | Joni Törmälä | 2, 5, 8-9, 11-12 | |
| 95 | Ulaş Özyıldırım | 1, 3-4, 6-7, 9-10, 12 | |
| Scuderia Ferrari HP Esports | 32 | John Evans | 1-6 |
| 54 | Ismael Fahssi | All | |
| 77 | Bari Broumand | 7-12 | |
| Atlassian Williams F1 Team Gaming | 21 | Álvaro Carretón | 2, 6, 8-9, 11 |
| 40 | Nicolas Longuet | All | |
| 62 | István Puki | 1, 3-5, 7, 10, 12 | |
| Source:[3] | |||
Calendar
The full schedule was announced on 19 March, consisting of twelve races across four separate events.
| Round | Circuit | Distance | Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai | 28 laps | 27 March 2026 | Event One | |
| 2 | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka | 27 laps | 28 March 2026 | ||
| 3 | Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir | 29 laps | 29 March 2026 | ||
| 4 | Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Jeddah | 25 laps | 22 April 2026 | Event Two | |
| 5 | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló | 33 laps | 23 April 2026 | ||
| 6 | Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone | 26 laps | |||
| 7 | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot | 22 laps | 13 May 2026 | Event Three | |
| 8 | Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort | 36 laps | 14 May 2026 | ||
| 9 | Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas | 28 laps | |||
| 10 | Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City | 36 laps | 27 May 2026 | Event Four | |
| 11 | Interlagos Circuit, São Paulo | 36 laps | 28 May 2026 | ||
| 12 | Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi | 29 laps | |||
| Source:[4][5] | |||||
Calendar changes
Suzuka Circuit and Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya replaced the Albert Park Street Circuit and Lusail International Circuit from the 2025 calendar, with Suzuka returning after two seasons away from the calendar, while Barcelona made its first appearance in F1 Sim Racing.
Results
Season summary
Season report
Event One (March 27-29)
Event One of the 2026 F1 Sim Racing World Championship went underway in Shanghai, with Fredrick Rasmussen taking the first pole position of this season. The latter then converted pole position for a race win. Soon enough, the digital race in Japan had Rasmussen in pole for two consecutive times, but Alpine's Otis Lawrence took the win.
Championship standings
Scoring system
Points will be awarded to the top 10 classified finishers in the race and one point will be given to the driver who sets the fastest lap inside the top ten. One extra point will be awarded to the pole-sitter.
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Pole Position | Fastest Lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
In the event of a tie at the conclusion of the championship, a count-back system is used as a tie-breaker, with a driver's/team's best result used to decide the standings.
Drivers' Championship standings
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Teams' Championship standings
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Notes
References
- ^ Haustein, Yannik (18 November 2025). "EA Sports Announces 2026 Expansion For F1 25, New Game In 2027". OverTake.gg. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
- ^ a b c "F1 launches 2026 Sim Racing World Championship". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
- ^ "Who are the 2026 F1 Sim Racing World Championship drivers?". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
- ^ "F1 launches 2026 Sim Racing World Championship". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
- ^ "How the 2026 F1 Sim Racing Championship works". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
- ^ a b "2026 Formula 1 Sim Racing World Championship Standings". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 27 March 2026.