Formula 1 Sim Racing World Championship 2026: Red Bull Clinches Constructors Title And Otis Lawrence Secures Drivers Crown

The Formula 1 Sim Racing World Championship ended at Biggin Hill, with both titles decided at the virtual Yas Marina Circuit. Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing secured a record fourth Constructors' Championship and the largest share of the 750,000 dollar prize pool. Alpine's 18 year old Otis Lawrence claimed his first Drivers' Championship.

Lawrence, from Wales, resisted late pressure from Scuderia Ferrari HP Esports driver Ismael Fahssi to seal the crown. Red Bull's Jarno Opmeer finished third in the Drivers' standings. Ferrari placed third in the Constructors' Championship, behind champions Red Bull and consistent challengers Alpine.

In the final round of the 2026 season, Red Bull completed back-to-back Constructors' titles, again under pressure from Alpine across all four events. The 2026 campaign featured nine F1 teams and 12 rounds, delivered through four live events at DreamHack Birmingham and Biggin Hill.

The championship opened at gaming festival DreamHack Birmingham, which hosted more than 50,000 fans across the weekend. The remaining events took place in Formula 1's sim racing studio at its Media and Technology Centre in Biggin Hill, underlining ongoing investment in the esports series infrastructure and production.

Audience numbers rose strongly in 2026. Event 1 at DreamHack drew over 3.9 million live viewers across three races. That figure marked an 85 percent increase on Event 1 in 2025, which attracted 2.1 million viewers for the comparable opening stage of the season.

F1 Sim Racing Viewership

The series strengthened its sponsor line-up. Lenovo Legion joined as Official Technology Provider, supplying high performance gaming hardware for teams and drivers. Aramco continued as Presenting Partner, while AWS and Fanatec remained as Official Sponsors, with Fanatec again providing professional-grade simulators for all competitors.

F1 Sim Racing Championship 2026 had Big wins

Emily Prazer, Chief Commercial Officer at Formula 1, said the season hit several "exciting milestones" and praised events at DreamHack Birmingham and the Biggin Hill facility. She added, "Congratulations to Red Bull and Alpine's Otis Lawrence on their outstanding achievements this season."

Prazer highlighted Red Bull's four Constructors' titles and Lawrence's success at 18. She said, "We're proud of the continued growth of F1 Sim Racing and look forward to building on this momentum in the years ahead," pointing to rising audiences and strong fan engagement.

Morgan Ashurst, Esports Lead of Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing, said, "We entered the 2026 season as the defending champions, with everything to lose." Ashurst praised drivers Frede and Jarno, engineers Ondrej and Liam, and the management team for their roles in the title defence

Ashurst added that Red Bull had become the first double back-to-back Teams' champions. Looking ahead, Ashurst said the outfit would rest before shifting focus to the 2027 season and the new downloadable content, aiming to maintain its strong record in the series.

Drivers' champion Otis Lawrence reflected on a long season. "Winning the Drivers' Championship means so much to me, I have dedicated so much time to the championship," he said, noting the longer game cycle and the effort needed to stay at the front.

Lawrence named his DreamHack victory as the key moment. "The highlight of the season was winning at DreamHack," he said. He enjoyed racing before a live crowd that included family, friends and team staff, and plans to return in 2027 to defend his Drivers' title.