No chance against the top teams: This is how a Formula 1B World Championship in 2026 would work!

Hypothetical thought experiment: This is how the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship would play out in the midfield if the smaller teams were to run their own championship

The budget cap was intended to bring Formula 1 closer together, but as Williams team principal James Vowles has now emphasised on several occasions, it has achieved the opposite. Under the new regulations, the top four teams are more dominant than ever, meaning that all other teams essentially stand no chance against them.

The gap is enormous: there is a 232-point chasm in the Constructors’ Championship between Red Bull in fourth place and Racing Bulls in fifth. So far, the top teams have shared all the podium places amongst themselves – this was not the case in 2025. Fifth place has so far been the best the midfield teams could hope for.

Essentially, the smaller teams are competing in their own championship, as they cannot keep up with the big teams on the track and are relegated to the role of bit-part players. But that brings us to the question: who would actually win such a ‘B’ championship?

Well, one could of course simply say: ‘Yes, you just have to look at the table to see that Liam Lawson, on 75 points, is well ahead of everyone else: his closest rival is Pierre Gasly, who has 41 points.’

But that would be rather boring, wouldn’t it? Instead, we’ve worked out what it would be like if the midfield were to run their own ‘B’ World Championship. With 25 points for the race winner and so on – just like the real Formula 1 Championship, only without the top teams.

The title race would actually be far more exciting than at the very top – and the picture wouldn’t be quite as clear-cut as the current real standings suggest. Lawson’s three races for Red Bull are particularly painful in this regard, as he was unable to score any points for the ‘B’ World Championship whilst there.

What’s striking at the back of the field, but plays no part in the World Championship battle for the photo gallery, is that even without the eight top teams, Valtteri Bottas would only have nine World Championship points. His Cadillac team-mate Sergio Perez, on the other hand, would have significantly more, with 30 points.

The Mexican would therefore also be ahead of Lance Stroll, who has 21 points. Stroll has only managed to score points on four race weekends, relying mainly on ten points in Malaysia and eight in Hungary.