It was an exemplary display from start to finish for Williams F1 Team Gaming on iRacing for the penultimate round of the Esports Racing League in 2026.
It has great experience on the simulator, of course, but so did many others in the competition, and Alessandro Bico was the standout performer in leading the team to the win.
The Italian set the tone from the first heat of the day, when he took the pole and controlled the first race very comfortably, as the first five teams all knew they’d done enough to make the quarter-finals long before the races’ conclusion.
The second heat was a little more exciting; Carlos Fenollosa’s pole counted for very little when he made a bad start and handed over the lead to Rainer Talvar, who came under fire on the last lap from Issac Price, though he held on to win.
None of the big names even needed the second chance race for this round, perhaps showcasing how comfortable the top teams are on iRacing. It was an entertaining 10-minute affair though; Ruby Nekomata’s well-timed pass saw Samantha Tan Racing Esports through, while Alessandro Porta just held off David Celada on the last lap to see Absolute Motorsport into the quarter-final as well.
Quarter-Final pole was taken by Fenollosa once again, but he made an even worse start this time, putting TC Esports in early trouble. Bico took the lead and held on to win, while TC Esports would hang on, BS+ Competition would be the biggest team to miss out, with none of their drivers making the top 10.
Bico had really gathered momentum with that race win, and wasn’t stopping there, taking a pole for the Semi-Final. He impressively kept Fenollosa and Will Chadwick behind him during the race, all while they were fighting amongst themselves for places in the final.
When TC Esports learned of a penalty that put them out of contention, Chadwick knew he had to get past quickly, or EMM would be eliminated as well, but there was contact made in the move. This allowed both Team Vitality and Visceral Esports, both of whom had two drivers inside the top 10 unlike the other teams, into the Final with Williams.
It was no prizes for guessing the polesitter for the final; Bico had done it again, unsurprisingly, but this time his launch off the line was by far his worst of the night. Luckily for him, Matteo Kuenzer of Williams was there to take over the lead, and so Williams were in a good place, despite Joni Katila slipping into second.
Ignoring tactical convention, the six behind this leading trio started to fight almost straight away in the Final, securing an easy round win for Williams, with only second left to decide, going to Visceral in the end.
All three teams will leave iRacing happy with their evening’s work though, as they now sit one-two-three in the standings, with Williams leading the way. Just a semi-final appearance will do for Williams and Vitality now, while there are still five teams below the final four cut line who have a realistic chance of making it in the last round on Raceroom in three weeks’ time.
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