VFC Mid-Season Report 2026: Who Has Impressed – and Who Needs to Step Up? | Part 1

Ten races are in the books and six remain – the 2026 VFC season has already passed its halfway point and is heading into its decisive phase following the Austrian Grand Prix. That makes it the perfect time for a first assessment of how each team has performed so far.

The Constructors' Championship standings alone do not tell the full story. Expectations heading into the season, the potential of each car and, where possible, a comparison with the same point of the 2025 campaign all play a part in our assessment.

In Part 1 of the VFC Mid-Season Report, we take a closer look at the teams currently sitting 13th through seventh in the Constructors' Championship.

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

13. Arrow Racing – Grade 4

2026: 6 points | 2025 after ten races: 32 points

Arrow Racing remains in 2026 what it has often been in previous seasons: a team that competes in the midfield, occasionally picks up points when opportunities arise, but rarely manages to establish itself as a consistent threat further up the order.

From a sporting perspective, however, the team has taken a step backwards compared to last year. Competing as Yellow Arrow Racing in 2025, the team had already collected 32 points after ten rounds. At the same stage this season, that number stands at just six.

It has not developed into a genuine crisis, though. Expectations surrounding Arrow were relatively modest before the season began, and the team is ultimately fulfilling roughly the role many expected it to occupy – just with a significantly lower points total than last year.

There have been few major highlights, but also few complete disasters. Arrow turns up, races and occasionally capitalises when opportunities present themselves.

Mid-season verdict: Not a major disappointment, but there has also been little sign of genuine progress. To earn a stronger grade, Arrow needs to fight for points on merit more regularly during the second half of the season.

Grade: 4

12. Simspark Racing – Grade 6

2026: 6 points | 2025 after ten races: 46 points

Few teams entered the 2026 season with a bigger gap between ambition and reality than Simspark Racing.

Podiums were openly discussed before the campaign began. Ten races later, the team has scored just six points. At the same stage last season, Simspark already had 46.

By now, however, the disappointing results are only part of the problem.

Alvin Tran and Christian Dittmer both left the team during the season and subsequently voiced criticism of its internal structures.

What began as a difficult sporting campaign has therefore turned into a much broader issue. The podiums targeted before the opening race now look a long way away, while Simspark has instead found itself fighting simply to score points at all.

Mid-season verdict: Podiums were the target. Six points are the reality. Add two mid-season driver departures and criticism of the team's internal structure, and there is little room for a more generous assessment.

Grade: 6

11. SVL Racing – Grade 6

2026: 19 points | 2025 after ten races: 44 points

Only a year ago, SVL Racing appeared to be one of the more interesting developing projects on the VFC grid. Sander van Leeuwen even capped off his 2025 campaign by being named Rookie of the Year.

Very little of that momentum remains in 2026.

After ten races, SVL has scored only 19 points – less than half of the 44 it had accumulated at the same stage last season.

The situation surrounding van Leeuwen has made matters even more difficult. He has not competed for the team since the Canadian Grand Prix, leaving SVL without one of its standout performers from 2025.

Since then, the team appears to have lost not only one of its key drivers, but also much of its sporting direction. SVL has now slipped to 11th in the Constructors' Championship.

Mid-season verdict: Almost nothing remains of last season's positive momentum. Van Leeuwen's absence has made an already difficult campaign even harder, and SVL desperately needs fresh momentum in the final six races.

Grade: 6

10. Spinardi – Grade 4+

2026: 21 points

Tenth place and only 21 points may look like a clearly disappointing season at first glance. With Spinardi, however, the situation is not quite that simple.

The car has shown considerably more potential than the Constructors' Championship suggests. On several occasions, the pace has been there – but the results have rarely reflected it.

Daniel Scott in particular has arguably become the unluckiest driver of the season. External circumstances and unfortunate incidents have repeatedly prevented him from turning promising performances into significant points.

That cannot remain the explanation forever, though. Spinardi entered the year expecting to establish itself in the midfield, and 21 points after ten races are simply not enough to meet that target.

Mid-season verdict: The results do not reflect the actual performance of the car. Spinardi is better than tenth place suggests, but it now has to start converting that potential into points.

Grade: 4+

9. Falcon Simracing – Grade 5

2026: 28 points | 2025 after ten races: 114 points

Of all the established teams on the grid, Falcon Simracing may have suffered the most dramatic decline.

After ten races in 2025, Falcon sat third in the Constructors' Championship with 114 points. One year later, it has just 28 points and sits ninth.

Even those numbers do not tell the whole story.

During the opening quarter of the season, Falcon's car was at times among the strongest packages on the grid. The team simply failed to capitalise on it.

Technical problems, individual mistakes and repeated setbacks have defined the campaign. Falcon has now gone five consecutive races without scoring a single point.

That makes the situation particularly frustrating. Unlike teams that simply lack outright speed, Falcon has repeatedly shown that the underlying potential is there.

Mid-season verdict: An absolute nightmare of a season. Falcon had a car capable of achieving far more, particularly early in the year. Technical issues explain part of the problem, but the team's own mistakes have also been costly. A potential frontrunner has become one of the biggest concerns on the grid.

Grade: 5

8. Blue Horns Racing – Grade 4-

2026: 31 points | 2025 after ten races: 77 points

Blue Horns Racing is another team whose trajectory has clearly moved in the wrong direction.

After ten races last season, the team had collected 77 points. This year, it has just 31.

Instead of challenging the teams further up the order, Blue Horns increasingly has to look over its shoulder to avoid slipping even further down the standings.

Jörn Dicks has yet to find the form that has made him such a strong competitor in previous seasons, while the team as a whole has lacked the consistency required to regularly score significant points.

One of the few major highlights came at Magny-Cours, where Tim Brendel delivered a strong weekend and finished fourth.

Performances like that, however, have been the exception rather than the rule.

Mid-season verdict: Very little has gone right so far. Blue Horns occasionally shows enough pace for strong results, but overall the team is considerably weaker than it was in 2025. It needs to improve quickly if it wants to avoid dropping even further down the order.

Grade: 4-

7. Ottimale EM – Grade 2+

2026: 53 points | 2025 after ten races: 38 points

While several established teams have taken a significant step backwards compared to 2025, Ottimale EM has clearly moved in the opposite direction.

After ten rounds, the team has collected 53 points – 15 more than at the same stage last season.

Tim Hauck has been the key factor behind that progress. The Ottimale driver has been one of the most consistent competitors on the entire grid and continues to bring home valuable points weekend after weekend.

Stefan Schubert has also contributed to the team's tally, adding important points to Ottimale's Constructors' Championship campaign.

The team may not currently have the outright pace to fight at the very front, but it is doing exactly what a strong midfield outfit needs to do: take its opportunities, minimise mistakes and score consistently.

Mid-season verdict: Not the most spectacular campaign, but an extremely solid and consistent one. Ottimale has clearly improved compared to last year, with Hauck establishing himself as one of the most reliable points scorers in the VFC.

Grade: 2+

That brings Part 1 of our VFC Mid-Season Report to a close.

While Simspark and SVL face particularly difficult second halves of the season, Ottimale stands out as one of the clear positive developments of 2026.

In Part 2, attention turns to the top six – featuring a spectacular turnaround, former title contenders in trouble, an impressive newcomer and the championship leader setting the benchmark at the front.