04 - 2026 Season Start: Rounds 1-6
- guffaluff
- Feb 24, 2025
- 6 min read
Hello, and welcome to my saga of Atlantic Racing, a small fish in a big pond, trying to make an impact in Formula 1! If you're new to the series, I urge you to take a look at the previous posts to be up to date on our story! :)
In this entry, we're about to catch up to where I currently am in my playthrough, which is past Round 6 in Miami, 2026. I'm waiting for the next patch before I continue, which should address the whole issue with the contract system/logic.
If you're new to the series, make sure to catch up on previous posts! :)
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Season so far (Rounds 1-6)
Atlantic Racing - The Start of Something Great?
Bearman / Iwasa: Head to head
Our Affiliate Drivers
Notable things from the season so far
F2/F3 standings so far
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SEASON SO FAR: ROUNDS 1-6
We're through the first quarter of the season, and it's evident already that this will be a 2 horse race in the WDC, and a 1 horse "race" in the Constructors championship. Lets see how the scores are looking right now:
As is quite evident from the above pictures, Red Bull's dominance from last season has certainly carried over into 2026. They lead by a huge margin already, and something major needs to happen in order to bring another team into the fight. The dynamic duo of Verstappen and Sainz have won all but one race, as Piastri took the win in Jeddah.
The championship fight is really close between the two teammates at Red Bull. Last season it was a Max dominance, but currently they're only separated by 2 points! It seems like Carlos has really found his groove in the Red Bull machine, but can he keep it up through the whole season? Could we perhaps see a first time champion in Carlos Sainz? Does he have what it takes to take on the almighty Max? So far, he's doing a pretty dang great job, and I can't wait to see how things turn out!
McLaren is fairly comfortably in 2nd place, while it's a hard fought battle for 3rd place between Ferrari and ... Atlantic Racing!?
ATLANTIC RACING - THE START OF SOMETHING GREAT?
Our little, yet growing team, has seen a big jump in performance between 2025 and 2026. The new technical regulations have worked well in our favor, but it is also much thanks to the star power of Pierre Waché, which the team picked up last season as the new Technical Chief. He's brought his wealth of experience and talent, combined with a solid set of staff already in place, and brought our team to the next level!
To be fighting for not only points, but also podiums, is a dream come true for the people of Atlantic Racing. The team is making waves and solidifying their place in Formula 1. The team has brought home points in all races except Australia, and two podiums!
BEARMAN / IWASA: HEAD TO HEAD
Lets take a look at how our drivers stack up:
Currently, after the first 6 races, it is Iwasa who is leading the charge for Team Atlantic, with 56 points against 39 points from Bearman. Despite the duo being even on race results, 3-3, and each scoring one podium, Iwasa has done a better job of maximizing his opportunities, and has also been the better qualifier (5-1). The DNF by Bearman in Bahrain obviously doesn't help his cause, but it's safe to say that the team is quite satisfied by the performance shown by this young driver duo.
Both drivers have contracts through the 2027 season, so there is still plenty of time for them to hone their craft and get better, and for the team to evaluate if they'll choose to attempt re-signing one, both, or neither of the two drivers in due time.
OUR AFFILIATE DRIVERS
Atlantic Racing's affiliate program is admittedly not in the best shape. As has been documented, we've sadly lost two promising drivers to Ferrari, and are currently holding two affiliate drivers: Bianca Bustamante (20 years old, 57 OVR) and Arvid Lindblad (18 years old, 65 OVR)
Bianca is progressing steadily, but not at a pace that is likely to open the doors to F1 for her. She has not managed to get into F3, and is currently not in any racing series.
Lindblad is racing in F2 but is dead last in the standings with 0 points. Not a great outlook for him so far, with his teammate currently in P7. Lindblad's development has slowed down and he is not progressing as the team expected. His chances of getting a contract renewal post-2027 are looking bleak at the moment, but he is still young and has time to improve, so time will tell.
The team is actively scouting and looking for some talent to add to the affiliate program, so we'll bring a update on this section in the next entry.
NOTABLE THINGS FROM THE SEASON SO FAR
It seems like there is a shift in the balance of power at McLaren, with Piastri taking the early lead between himself and Lando. Through the first 6 races, Piastri has double the points of Lando, and the only driver to score a win aside from the Red Bull duo. If Piastri continues this way, will Lando stay, or perhaps seek opportunities elsewhere, where he can be the lead driver?
In the Ferrari camp it is the second season of Leclerc and Hamilton as teammates. In 2025 Leclerc beat the 7 time world champion fairly comfortably, but the tables have turned at the early stages of 2026. Hamilton is P4 in the WDC with 62 points, against 28 points by Leclerc, who sits in P10. Early days still, but seems like Hamilton is grooving in his comfort zone right now.
Yet another power shift, this time at Mercedes. Bottas, who beat Alonso comfortably in 2025, is struggling. He's only scored 6 points, against 35 by Alonso. Surely the higher ups at Mercedes will be putting the pressure on Bottas to bring results, as the car is clearly up for the task of scoring points.
Williams continues their upwards trajectory, sitting in P7 at the moment with 24 points. In 2025 they scored a total of 31 points, so they're already close to reaching that number. Vowles continues his good work behind the scenes. It would truly be great to see the esteemed Williams team back in the fight at the top.
Haas seems to be the definite worst team on the grid, having failed to finish above P20 so far. The driver lineup is not exactly strong, with Logan Sargeant and Pietro Fittipaldi running the show. Fittipaldi is not starting his rookie campaign with a bang, as he has finished last in 5 out of 6 races so far. But to be fair, he has not been provided with a acceptable car to work with.
F2/F3 STANDINGS SO FAR
Lets start with Formula 2, here are the Top 10 standings at this point in time:
Antonelli holds the lead in Formula 2 so far, and is by far the most exciting prospect not in the F1 yet. He's been developing rapidly and his affiliate contract with Red Bull is expiring after the 2026 season. He has not yet signed a new contract, but he will surely be fielded with offers. It would be very surprising if he won't have a Formula 1 seat for 2027.
Our ex-affiliate driver, Ti Seok, is in P2 at the moment and doing well. Team Atlantic is following his progress closely, as he has a affiliate contract with Ferrari through 2027, and will likely be making the move up to F1 in 2028, if not sooner.
We have a female driver in the Top 10, which is very nice to see. Isabelle Rey is doing a decent job for Prema Racing, although she is quite some ways behind her teammate in P4.
Now on to Formula 3, the Top 10 standings:
We have some more prominent female drivers doing well here in F3, with Doris Meier leading the field by 20 points so far! Another lady driver is placed P6, Chloe Chambers. The resurgence in female drivers is a welcome sight, and who knows if we'll get to see a woman in a Formula 1 seat in the coming years!
This will be it for this entry, and we're now officially up to date on my playthrough! I'll continue the game following the next patch that (hopefully) fixes the contract system overall.
I'm planning to do entries quarterly, so my next chapter should be once I finish Round 12, then Round 18, and lastly a season roundup after Round 24.
Hope you guys enjoy the ride!
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