VFC Mid-Season Report 2026: From Surprise Package to Championship Favourite | Part 2

Part 1 of our VFC Mid-Season Report focused on the teams sitting 13th through seventh in the Constructors' Championship. Now it is time to turn our attention to the top six.

And the stories could hardly be more different.

A former championship leader has suffered a dramatic decline, several teams are locked in a close fight for third, one newcomer has massively exceeded expectations – and at the very front, Optiminal Esports continues to set the standard.

The grades follow the German grading system, with 1 being the best possible grade and 6 the worst.

6. Team Rookie Monsters – Grade 2-

2026: 69 points | Valle Esports 2025 after ten races: 66 points

Statistically, surprisingly little has changed.

The team now known as Rookie Monsters competed as Valle Esports in 2025 and had collected 66 points after ten races. One year later, the total stands at 69.

The story behind those numbers, however, is far more interesting.

Chris Gitsov's victory in Japan gave Rookie Monsters one of the biggest highlights of the season so far. At the same time, there is a clear feeling that the team could have achieved significantly more.

Both Robin Moelling and Gitsov have lost valuable points through individual mistakes on several occasions. That is precisely why sixth place should not be viewed as the limit of this team.

Only a small number of points separate Rookie Monsters from Horizon and Seawolf. Third place in the Constructors' Championship therefore remains well within reach.

There is also another potential boost on the horizon. Rookie Monsters has announced a major upgrade package for after Monza. If that delivers the expected improvement – and the drivers reduce the number of errors – the team could take another major step forward during the final part of the season.

Mid-season verdict: One victory, a solid points haul and plenty of unused potential. Rookie Monsters is operating at roughly the same level as Valle did last year, but could easily be much higher in the standings. The fight for third is far from over.

Grade: 2-

5. Seawolf NetRace Motorsport – Grade 2+

2026: 74 points

It may be the most remarkable development of the entire season.

Before Miami, Seawolf NetRace Motorsport had scored just a single point. The car began the year underdeveloped and the team initially looked more likely to spend the campaign in the lower midfield than anywhere near the front.

Then everything changed.

Since Miami, Seawolf has completed an extraordinary turnaround, climbing all the way to fifth in the Constructors' Championship within the space of just a few races.

What began as one of the biggest concerns of the opening rounds has suddenly become one of the most dangerous packages on the grid.

Benjamin Gielczynski has played a major role in that rise. He has established himself as one of the strongest drivers in the league and is now regularly delivering major points for the team.

With 74 points, Seawolf sits only two behind Horizon Motorsport. Even third place in the Constructors' Championship is now a realistic target with six races remaining.

That is exactly why the rest of the field needs to start taking Seawolf very seriously.

Mid-season verdict: From an almost pointless start to becoming a genuine contender for third – turnarounds do not get much bigger than this. Seawolf has already exceeded its original midfield expectations.

Grade: 2+

4. Horizon Motorsport – Grade 2-

2026: 76 points

Horizon Motorsport entered the season with major ambitions.

Podiums were expected to be a regular possibility, and the team has already shown that the speed is there to achieve exactly that.

The highlight so far was Fabian Szyrzik's victory in Qatar. On that weekend, Horizon demonstrated exactly what the package is capable of when everything comes together.

The problem has been everything that followed.

Strong performances have too often been undone by collisions and incidents, costing the team valuable points throughout the opening ten races.

As a result, despite already having a victory to its name, Horizon sits only narrowly ahead of Seawolf and Rookie Monsters.

With 76 points, third place in the Constructors' Championship remains a realistic objective. Given the team's preseason expectations, however, Horizon would have hoped to be more securely established in that position by now.

Mid-season verdict: The pace for major results is clearly there, and the Qatar victory proved it. Too many lost points have prevented Horizon from building a stronger position. Reduce the incidents, and third place remains very achievable.

Grade: 2-

3. Razor GP – Grade 4

2026: 101 points | 2025 after ten races: 195 points

At Razor GP, it is becoming increasingly difficult not to describe the situation as a major decline.

One year ago, the team led the Constructors' Championship after ten races with 195 points.

At the same stage of 2026, Razor has just 101 – almost 100 fewer.

Bastian Paisler's season has been particularly striking. He has collected only 28 points so far, far below what is expected from both him and the team.

There has certainly been bad luck along the way, including his retirement in Qatar. Nevertheless, the overall return remains far below the level Razor should be achieving.

The main reason the team's first half of the season does not receive an even harsher assessment is Fabian Walter.

His victory in Miami was not only one of Razor's biggest highlights of the year, but also proof that the team still possesses the performance required to win races.

Third place in the Constructors' Championship also shows that Razor has not completely collapsed.

But that is precisely what makes its points total so disappointing.

If the potential to win races is there, 101 points after ten rounds simply is not enough.

Mid-season verdict: Walter's Miami victory has rescued the picture to some extent, but compared to 2025 and the team's own expectations, Razor remains one of the biggest disappointments of the season. Paisler in particular needs a much stronger second half.

Grade: 4

2. VEGA – Grade 1+

2026: 140 points

VEGA entered the 2026 season expecting to fight for podiums.

Ten races later, it is fighting for championships.

With 140 points, VEGA has established itself comfortably in second place in the Constructors' Championship and holds a significant advantage over Razor GP.

Even more impressive is the situation in the Drivers' Championship: Oldenmenger leads the standings.

VEGA has therefore not simply met expectations – it has clearly exceeded them.

And even with such a strong points total, there is a sense that more was possible.

Mirco Mancini has endured his share of bad luck during the first half of the season, but has also lost potential points through mistakes of his own. The clearest example came at Hockenheim, where a disqualification wiped out the possibility of another strong result.

Without those setbacks, VEGA could be even closer to Optiminal in the Constructors' Championship.

That makes the team's current position even more impressive.

VEGA has shown strong pace and impressive consistency, while Oldenmenger in particular has made excellent use of the opportunities presented to him.

What began the season as a project expected to challenge for podiums has become a genuine championship threat.

The gap in the Constructors' Championship is already significant, but in the Drivers' Championship VEGA is right in the middle of the title fight – and the first ten races suggest that the team has still not fully maximised its potential.

Mid-season verdict: A podium contender has become a championship challenger. Oldenmenger leads the Drivers' Championship and VEGA sits comfortably second among the teams – despite Mancini losing several points through both bad luck and mistakes. It is difficult to ask for much more from the first half of the season.

Grade: 1+

1. Optiminal Esports – Grade 1

2026: 196 points | 2025 after ten races: 177 points

Optiminal Esports entered the season as one of the clear favourites – and so far, the team has delivered exactly what was expected of it.

After ten races, Optiminal has scored 196 points and holds a commanding lead in the Constructors' Championship.

That total is even better than at the same stage last season, when the team had collected 177 points.

Optiminal also remains firmly involved in the Drivers' Championship battle. Sven Schubert is still fighting for the title, keeping the team's hopes of a championship double very much alive.

And yet, even with such an impressive season, there is still a feeling that more could have been achieved.

Heiko Kolvenbach has not converted the potential of the second car into major points consistently enough. Had the second Optiminal entry scored more regularly, the team's advantage in the Constructors' Championship could already be considerably larger.

That is ultimately the only reason Optiminal misses out on a perfect grade.

The team leads comfortably, Schubert remains in the title fight and Optiminal has scored more points than it had at the same stage of 2025.

Expectations have been fully met.

Mid-season verdict: The benchmark of the 2026 season so far. Optiminal is doing exactly what is expected of a championship favourite and leads the Constructors' Championship comfortably. Only the points return from the second car prevents the perfect grade.

Grade: 1

The Mid-Season Awards

Team of the First Half: Optiminal Esports

VEGA has exceeded expectations and Seawolf has produced the most dramatic turnaround, but the award for the strongest overall team still belongs to Optiminal Esports.

196 points after ten races, a commanding lead in the Constructors' Championship and a driver still fighting for the individual title – no team has put together a stronger first half of the season.

Biggest Positive Surprise: Seawolf NetRace Motorsport

VEGA would also be a more than deserving candidate, but Seawolf's development has been even more extraordinary.

Before Miami, the team had scored just one point.

Five races later, it has 74 and is suddenly within reach of third place in the Constructors' Championship.

A team that entered the year with midfield expectations has transformed itself into a genuine threat to the established frontrunners.

Biggest Disappointment: Simspark Racing

Falcon, Blue Horns and Razor will hardly be satisfied with their seasons either, but nowhere is the gap between expectation and reality greater than at Simspark.

Podiums were the stated goal before the season.

After ten races, the team has scored six points, lost two drivers during the campaign and faced criticism of its internal structures.

Both on and off the track, the first half of the season has fallen far short of expectations.

Everything Is Open Behind Optiminal

At the top of the Constructors' Championship, Optiminal appears to have the situation firmly under control.

Behind them, however, almost everything remains open.

Razor currently holds third place, but Horizon, Seawolf and Rookie Monsters are all within striking distance.

Seawolf's recent form and Rookie Monsters' major upgrade package scheduled for after Monza could change the competitive order again during the final six races.

VEGA, meanwhile, faces a different challenge.

While closing the gap to Optiminal in the Constructors' Championship will be difficult, Oldenmenger leads the Drivers' Championship – meaning the fight for the biggest individual prize in the VFC could go all the way to the season finale.

Ten races have already produced countless surprises.

Six remain to write the final report.