2026 F1 Sim Racing World Championship: All the key moments from Event 1 at DreamHack It was a dramatic start to the 2026 Sim Racing World Championship season at DreamHack in Birmingham – here is a recap of the first three races. The 2026 Sim Racing World Championship kicked off over the weekend, with 21 of the best esports drivers battling it out over three races in front of a live audience at DreamHack in Birmingham. There were loads of overtakes, a couple of crashes, and plenty of drama, as Red Bull’s Jarno Opmeer earned an early lead in the Drivers’ Championship, with Alpine’s Otis Lawence and Williams’ Nicolas Longuet in hot pursuit. Here is a recap of the first three rounds of the season... Round 1: China The season kicked off at the Shanghai International Circuit in China, with plenty watching the drivers on stage in Birmingham for the first Qualifying session of the year. In standard Sim Racing fashion, the margins were razor thin, with the top nine separated by just over two tenths of a second. It was Frederik Rasmussen who took the first pole position of 2026, with Red Bull team mate and defending Champion Opmeer back in P5. Last year’s polesitter Ulas Ozyildirim and Williams’ Nicolas Longuet completed the top three. Rasmussen was in no mood to repeat last year’s poor championship start, holding off Ozyildirim on the final few laps to convert pole into an opening race victory. The Dane looked comfortable throughout as he carved through the field on his medium-to-hard strategy – with Ozyildirim and Alfie Butcher making up the rest of the podium. There was disappointment for Longuet after he suffered a slow start to come home in P8, while it was fourth for Red Bull’s Opmeer. Alpine’s Lawrence looked in