2025 vs 2026: The Big Team Check After the First Four Races | Part 6 of 6

Four races are done, the spring break has arrived – and that makes it the perfect time for the next early assessment. In Part 6 of our big team check, we focus on Razor GP and Optiminal Esports, two teams looking at the top of the championship from completely different angles in 2026.

Razor GP: From last year’s benchmark to a project surrounded by questions

The difference compared to 2025 is immediately striking at Razor GP. 29 points instead of 86, no win, no podium, and only fifth in the team standings – this is not just a minor drop-off, it is a dramatic regression. A team that looked like a genuine benchmark after four races a year ago has, in this early phase of the new season, clearly fallen away from exactly that level.

The reasons, however, go deeper than a simple loss of form. On the one hand, there appear to be performance issues, particularly on Bastian Paisler’s side of the garage. That does not explain everything on its own, but it clearly removes an important sporting pillar from the team. When one of your drivers is not producing the level required for regular top results, a team like Razor feels it immediately in every statistic. For a squad that in 2025 thrived on presence, authority and clarity, that kind of drop in performance hurts twice as much.

On the other hand, Razor have quite deliberately chosen a different path from the one they followed last year. In 2025, they clearly built a car that was sharp right from the opening phase of the season. In 2026, the concept appears to be different: not the best package for the early races, but a direction aimed more at the later stages of the year and the final run-in. That is exactly why the updates ahead of Canada carry such importance. They are meant to lay the foundation for closing the gap further and gradually shaping the car into what the team had apparently intended from the beginning.

And this is where the real intrigue around Razor GP begins. Because this strategy could ultimately prove to be clever – or it could simply reinforce an increasingly uncomfortable suspicion. After all, the final third of the 2025 season had already marked a step backwards compared to their explosive start. That now raises the question of whether Razor are really just waiting for the right moment to strike again, or whether last year’s surge was ultimately more of an exceptional moment than a lasting standard. In the paddock, that possibility is no longer being seriously denied behind closed doors.

That is exactly why Razor GP are approaching a decisive phase. They are not written off yet, and there is still enough quality in the team to fight back. But Canada and the races that follow will have to show whether this early deficit is genuinely part of a larger plan – or whether Razor are still living off the reputation of a strong 2025 without truly being able to reproduce that level right now.

Optiminal Esports: The leader stays in front – despite the first small warning signs

While Razor are searching for answers, Optiminal Esports have so far delivered exactly the picture many expected after 2025: continuity at the very highest level. 83 points instead of 60, first in the team championship instead of second, plus wins, podiums and an unmistakable presence at the front – Optiminal have carried on seamlessly from the previous season, when they secured both titles. In 2026, they are once again the benchmark that everyone else has to chase.

Sven Schubert embodies that strength more than anyone. The championship leader has maintained the level he showed last year and gives Optiminal exactly the sporting stability that defines great teams. When it matters, Schubert is there. Quick, present and dependable. That is exactly why Optiminal in this early phase of the season do not look like a team fighting for the top – they look like one controlling it.

And yet, for all the dominance, there are still a few small areas that deserve closer attention. In the long term, Optiminal no longer seem to have the strongest financial resources in the field. That is not an immediate warning sign, but it is very much a factor that could matter later in the season. That is also why the team are only bringing a small update package to Canada. Optiminal remain strong, but they no longer look quite as automatically untouchable when the focus shifts a little further into the future.

There is also the question of internal balance. The team cannot rely on Sven Schubert alone. Heiko Kolvenbach has to raise his level as well and, above all, remain more consistently within striking distance of Schubert. He could do nothing about the accident at the start in Suzuka, of course – but he could do something about the position he put himself in by having an incident in Q1 and ending up in that vulnerable situation in the first place. That is exactly the challenge for him: not just to be quick, but to build his weekends in such a way that he avoids putting himself in trouble before the race has even begun. Because if Optiminal want to defend both titles, they need not only a dominant Schubert, but also a second driver who contributes consistently.

Even so, the overall picture remains clearly positive – and perhaps extends beyond pure sporting matters. Apparently, several drivers have already approached team boss Meschede to ask about a possible seat for 2027. That too is a sign of strength. Successful teams do not just win races – they attract interest. They become a destination. And that is exactly what Optiminal now seem to be once again.

So after four races, Optiminal Esports are exactly where defending champions want to be: out in front. But unlike in 2025, there are already signs in the background that this team may not be able to sustain their dominance forever through a simple abundance of resources. That may make their current strength even more impressive – and all the more important in determining how long they can keep the rest of the field at arm’s length.

Two top teams, two completely different stories

After four races, the conclusion here is also a clear one: Razor GP are fighting with a huge gap to their own level from last year and now have to prove that a bigger plan really does sit behind this weak start. Optiminal Esports, by contrast, have emphatically confirmed their role at the front, even if a few background themes are beginning to emerge that could become more important in the long run.

That is exactly why Canada will be especially fascinating for both teams. For Razor, it is a chance to bring their strategy properly onto the track for the first time. For Optiminal, it is an opportunity to strengthen their lead even further and show that, despite the first small financial question marks, they still have the most complete sporting package in the field.