June 15, 2025
Published on tags: Superleague 2025 SL SL1

 

Ed Hunter looks at how the teams and drivers have done so far. As one of two commentators, alongside Caitlin Penny, he has been there to see all the action this season!
My rating system:
10 - Perfection
9 - Excellent
8 - Great
7 - Very good
6 - Good
5 - Solid, shows promise
4 - Middling, performing as expected
3 - Slightly below expectations
2 - Disappointing
1 - Struggling
U - Ungraded

THR
The reigning 2-time teams champions find themselves on top at the mid-point of the season, but it's been anything but the smooth ride that many predicted pre-season. Their campaign has been mired by a series of accidents: A messy start to the season for both drivers reached it's nadir in Suzuka when Tom Stevens and Jarl Teien crashed into each other and caused a huge pileup on the first lap. The British squad then rapidly turned things around with Teien leading a 1-2 finish in Jeddah and Tom Stevens taking victory in a wet Spanish Grand Prix. Stevens then suffered more bad luck at Indianapolis when he was the innocent victim of the first lap carnage, but a podium for teammate Teien ensures that they maintain a 12 point lead in the Constructor's Championship.

Tom Stevens - 8
Jarl Teien - 7

Super Venturi
Reigning driver's champion Jan Granqvist started his title defence brilliantly after triumphing against Stevens in Australia before another inspired performance to win in Turkey. Narrowly losing victory on the final lap in Japan signalled a dip in form, as the Filipino Finn crashed out of the next two races in Saudi Arabia and Spain in two uncharacteristic errors. Indianapolis put things right through with a gutsy two-stop strategy that very nearly saw him steal victory. His teammate Jukkapekka Lalu has been consistently picking up the lower points in the second car, with the highlights being his drives in Istanbul and Indianapolis to hold off Tom Stevens and Loic Meunier to finish in the top 10; if he can replicate that form more often, and if Granqvist can keep taking wins and podiums, it could be enough to challenge for the team's title.

Jan Granqvist - 9
Jukkapekka Lalu - 4

TOP Esports
TOP needed a new leading light after team owner Owen McGaugie stepped down from driving duties. Szymon Frelik has done an admirable job thus far, finishing in the top four on four occasions. However, given his one lap pace, it's hard to escape the feeling that a few better results have slipped through his fingers, in particular Istanbul and Indianapolis where he led the early stages before tyre wear issues saw him slip off the podium; if he can get on top of those, then expect more to come from him. Carlos Martin has had flashes of pace, securing three top 7 finishes. Whilst he's retired due to misfortunes beyond his control in Jeddah and Indianapolis, he's seldom been able to match the pace of Frelik and has been solid and consistent rather than spectacular.

Szymon Frelik - 6
Carlos Martin - 5

Edonis Engineering
New signing Matthew Williams has been one of the surprises of the season so far; the only driver to finish all of the first six races in the points. His battling drives to the podium in Istanbul and Jeddah showed his wheel to wheel prowess, and he even gained 13 places in a strong recovery drive from a tough qualifying in Spain. If he improves his starting positions, Williams could be a real factor in the title fight. Unfortunately his teammate Robin Pansar was only competitive in Saudi Arabia when he gambled on a one-stop, and has been somewhat anonymous compared to the last two seasons. There's still plenty of time for the Super Swede to turn things around however.

Matthew Williams - 8
Robin Pansar - 3

Spark Racing Team
After being ruled out of the season opener due to technical problems, Loic Meunier is currently in the form of his life after brilliant drives to fight his way to second place in Turkey and Spain (where he narrowly took pole position) as well as a breakthrough first victory in Suzuka after a close fight with Granqvist. Mistakes in Saudi Arabia and causing the first corner melee in Indianapolis undeniably cost him some points, but his recovery drives to still finish in the top 10 went some way to limit the damage. Vincent Gutt has not grabbed many headlines in his first full season, but has finished in the final few points positions when attrition struck in Japan and the USA. However, he is consistently near the back row in qualifying and often a long way from the points, meaning he needs to work on his raw pace to keep Spark in the top 5 of the team's table.

Loic Meunier - 9
Vincent Gutt - 3

Road2Formula Racing
Interestingly, R2F's drivers have proved to be quite evenly matched despite being vastly different in driving styles; Alex Lehoux started the season brilliantly with a podium in Australia, and has enjoyed some very strong performances in qualifying, but ultimately his high grid spots flatter to deceive, as come the races he's suffered with high tyre wear, on top of some unforced errors in Istanbul and Barcelona. Tomasz Wach has been less eye-catching over a single lap, but the Pole's experience and consistency have shone through, and he has finished every race in the top 10, with the sole exception of Jeddah. You can't help but sense that there is much more potential that has eluded both drivers so far.

Tomasz Wach - 5
Alex Lehoux - 5

Valle Esports
The all-yellow Italian squad has speed in abundance this season, as Alessandro Maggio has quickly built up a reputation for one lap pace, with stunning pole laps in Melbourne and Jeddah. He had a tough start to the season, crashing out at Melbourne and then being cruelly disconnected whilst leading in Istanbul, but since then he's cut down on his mistakes and his luck has turned around as he's become a regular fixture in the top 8. Rouven Meschede had an impressive cameo performance in Melbourne on his way to 5th, before he then relinquished the seat back to full-time driver Sergio Fletcher. The Spaniard has shown tremendous race craft to climb up the order, but he also has let points slip through his fingers with needless spins into the wall at both Suzuka and Barcelona. With him beating Maggio for the first time this season after a best ever result of 5th in Indianapolis, expect the pair to push each other forwards and challenge R2F and Spark in the Constructor's table.

Alessandro Maggio - 7
Sergio Fletcher - 6
Rouven Meschede - 6

Holland Racing Team
After a few seasons away, Maciej Mlynek is back as a full time driver and starting to come into his own with HRT. Victory in Indianapolis was a welcome surprise, but the Pole had already been on an upward trajectory after 6th in Japan and 4th in Spain. If he can keep this momentum going and avoid accidents like Jeddah, then there could be more wins on the horizon. Stephane Rouault on the other hand is yet to match those heights, and is experiencing a DNF streak through a combination of technical problems and mistakes. With the car performing well, the former champion needs to turn things around to boost HRT up the standings.

Maciej Mlynek - 8
Stephane Rouault - 3

Epic Racing Team
Thanks to an aggressive upgrade strategy, Epic find themselves with a very competitive package after the first six rounds, and lead driver Geoffrey Fournier has started to capitalise, narrowly losing victory in Spain to Tom Stevens after a late rain shower left him 3rd; nonetheless, a long awaited return to the podium for the Frenchman building on his 7th place in Saudi Arabia. The second seat has seen a revolving door of drivers, as Dan Brewer decided to call it quits after an incident-filled start to the season where he lacked for pace. David Fidock only showed a few flashes of potential amid accidents in his two outings, and it's too early to judge Xavi Ros after just one incident-filled outing at Indianapolis, although it should be noted that the Spaniard set the fastest lap on his Superleague debut.

Geoffrey Fournier - 6
Dan Brewer - 1
David Fidock - 3
Xavi Ros - U

Fraser Tartan Racing
The turquoise team has had a very mixed 2025 so far. Sven Schubert has reacquainted himself well to Superleague, qualifying in the points paying positions and taking 8th and 7th in the last two races at Spain and the USA. It's taken a while to sort out the second car, as Matt Richards seemed ill-at-ease in his two outings and reigning FS1 champion and super sub Mike Kwint was taken out early in two heavy crashes in Turkey and Japan. A welcome surprise has been Moritz Kropp, who has taken the seat full-time. In Saudi Arabia he qualified 5th before a crash whilst fighting for the podium left him down in 14th. After a 10th in Spain, he then set a shock pole in Indianapolis before being barged into by Meunier at the first corner and then losing control and being involved in a massive pileup. Despite a rollercoaster ride, there is huge potential in the young German who seems much more comfortable at the top tier on his return.

Sven Schubert - 6
Matt Richards - 1
Mike Kwint - U
Moritz Kropp - 6

Edge Esports
After Marc Schlueter put in many strong performances in 2024, this season has seen a real drop in form for Edge Esports as they have struggled in qualifying and often fallen foul of trouble in the midfield. Despite three bruising opening rounds and a penalty dropping him to 12th in Jeddah, Schlueter had a charging drive through the field from 13th to 5th in Barcelona, showing a brief glimpse of what he's still capable of. Pascal Pohlenz has yet to show much in the way of speed, with the only standout being his 10th place in the Japanese Grand Prix, meaning he has a lot to prove going into the next phase of the season.

Marc Schlueter - 5
Pascal Pohlenz - 3

AKA Hero
It's been a middle of the road start for both AKA Hero drivers, both of whom have scored points, but neither have been able to break into the top 10. Heigo Poom has made a trademark of using alternate strategies to boost himself up the order, but this is something the Estonian has been forced into doing on account of only qualifying inside the top 20 once so far this season. Dylan Fisher has also not had the pace that he'd hoped for, but the Englishman has been making steady progress on that front, with his top 10 on the grid in Indianapolis going under the radar due to him being a victim of the subsequent first lap chaos.

Heigo Poom - 4
Dylan Fisher - 4

Red Archer Virtual Racing Team
After a year's sabbatical, Red Archer have not had the triumphant comeback they perhaps imagined they would. Chris Shepherd has scored the best result of the team's comeback so far with 9th after avoiding the melee in Suzuka, but elsewhere he has been unlucky or frustratingly just outside the points by a place or two. The big surprise has actually been Rait Kilk, the Estonian being confirmed in the second seat very late in the pre-season. He's been solidly in the midfield in qualifying, and picked up lower points after fighting drives in Australia and Japan.

Chris Shepherd - 4
Rait Kilk - 5

Green Stripes Racing
Not a lot of progress has been made by the Green Stripes outfit, who find themselves in a now familiar position as the resident underdogs of Superleague. Stijn Handgraaf fought his way to two solitary points for 15th in Suzuka and Jeddah, the latter being particularly hard fought after he was spun around to the back of the field. Stijn has a habit of being underestimated, but he is capable of becoming a much more regular points scorer. Wopke Hoekstra has unfortunately failed to stay on the lead lap all season, and whilst he's an experienced and popular figure in the GPV paddock, he's slipped into being a perennial backmaker who's best performances are firmly in the rear view mirror. Pawel Andrzejewski and Frederico Russo both did admirably in one-off appearances where they quickly matched their teammates.

Stijn Handgraaf - 4
Wopke Hoekstra - 1
Pawel Andrzejewski - U
Frederico Russo - U

Stax Racing
It's shaping up to be another brutally tough season for last season's wooden spoon holders, as they are yet to get on the scoreboard. Zsolt Szucs has come close, most recently in Indianapolis, but more often than not he has crashed out due to pushing too hard to make up the deficits to the teams ahead, as Stax's upgrade strategy seems to be unfocused and ineffective. His teammate Istvan Czingel has struggled even more in the second seat, regularly featuring on the back row of the grid and finding increasingly spectacular ways to exit races, as it's clear that he simply does not get on with the Superleague car whatsoever. Van Der Smissen's last minute call ups give the air of a team in freefall; the liveries still look superb, but this is sadly an outfit of style over substance.

Zsolt Szűcs - 2
Istvan Czingel - 1
Justin Van Der Smissen - U

By Ed Hunter