The first round of the Hot Seat Racing League Formula One season has wrapped up. With the hectic race in the books, we can take a look at the power rankings. These don’t exactly tell you who is going to win, but they should give you a solid idea of who the favourites are after the first race of the season.

If you want to watch the races, you can find them on Twitch being streamed by NoThrillsWills. If you happened to miss the race this weekend, you can watch it right here in VOD form!

Below you will find the team’s last ranking followed by the drivers. The driver is listed as “Driver Name: Finish in the most recent race (Overall standigns position).

10. Alfa Romeo

There were plenty of DNFs to go around at the opening round of the HSF1 season at the Hungaroring, but the Alfa Romeo team definitely took the worst of the blows. This team, like many others, has changed since the off-season power rankings came out last month. JustBeattie x has struggled in HSRL before this being demoted to F2 twice before, but he has come back each time to take another crack. To his credit, he has done that again. The DNF finish was tough for both, but don’t expect this team to disappear without a trace. They should be strong contenders down the road, but a tough opening week has them in the 10th spot.

9. Aston Martin

Aston Martin is the second of three teams to have both of their drivers DNF as drivers continue to try to master the mechanics of the new game. SeiglerF1 crashed out pushing things a little too hard chasing down both TC45MG and RustyWelder. He said he is happy with how things were going before the DNF, however, and he hopes to learn his lesson now and reduce mistakes the rest of the season. BlueBird2711 got caught up in a racing incident with RustyWelder through turn four and in an effort to avoid a collision, collected the Haas driver in the meantime. For both Aston Martin drivers, it’s a matter of reducing mistakes and keeping clean. If they can do that, they can compete for points each and every weekend.

8. Haas

Both Haas drivers looked good in this race, especially RustyWelder who was in the heat of battle before the incident in turn four. MoldyMuskrat showed in the 2020 game that he has the pace to challenge for the drivers’ championship and that likely will continue to be true as the season progresses. Despite their best efforts, neither driver finished the race. They looked the best of the teams who had both drivers DNF, but it’s hard to rank them much higher considering the DNFs. Where do they go from here? I’m not entirely sure. RustlyWelder looked much improved from the 2020 game and you have to expect MoldyMuskrat to start competing for podiums soon enough. Maybe they can compete to be in the top five sometime soon.

7. McLaren

It was one of those races in round one. Despite losing control of his car late in the race and colliding with the wall causing him to DNF, Icespillermc managed to pick up two points for himself in the standings. His teammate? Well, that seat is currently vacant. HSRL is looking to find a second driver, so if you are interested in joining the league, find out how at the end of the article! The McLaren camp has changed a considerable amount since the off-season, but there is hope for them still. Icespillermc finished 15th in season two, but you can clearly tell that he has improved since then. Can he keep that up? Can he continue to carry the McLaren team on his back, much like Lando Norris is doing? Only time will tell for this one, but one thing is clear, a teammate would be a massive addition for McLaren.

6. Ferrari

Wow oh wow! I don’t think too many people saw this one coming, but credit where credit is due! Both Wittboy and Dr0pdeadLauren finished in the points and Wittboy even led the race for some time. He had an amazing race but could have finished a little bit higher had he chose to pit when the safety car came out with about 10 laps to go. With all of the fastest drivers in the league on fresh softs and Wittboy on an old set of mediums, there was little hope that he would hold on, but it was an impressive race from the rookie nonetheless. Dr0pdeadLauren on the other hand came up with an interesting strategy of waiting for people to DNF before she overtook them. It’s a strategy that only she could come up with, but it worked. Seventh place is better than even she could have hoped for. She’s a safe driver, but when those in front of you are taking huge risks and risking a DNF, sometimes it’s best to wait for the big wrecks to happen.

5. Mercedes

Well, this one is being split into two different pieces because we have to get to the hilarity of what happened with II UnKnOwNn II. He very frequently finds himself getting into a big wreck or ripping his own front wing off and struggling around the circuit and ruining his own race. The official HSRL Twitter account took a shot at him over the weekend putting out a poll asking “What is more likely to happen to II UnKnOwNn II?” Qualify on pole of hit the pole were the options. Well, funnily enough, he ended up spinning and stopping on track. While waiting for cars to pass him, he was disqualified, officially finishing the race in P18.

https://twitter.com/HotSeatRL/status/1420871429223026699

DPV909 had himself an interesting race in the meantime. On the opening lap, he suffered a puncture under virtual safety car. He would manage his way back to the pits before spinning two or three more times during the race. The incredible thing about that is that he still managed to find a way to not only finish in the points but in fifth. It showed off his experience and creativity with overtakes and finding a way to minimize critical damage even when he spins. Could this be luck? Who knows? He definitely won’t want four spins and a puncture again.

4. AlphaTauri

AlfaTauri was ranked second on the last power rankings but have dropped a little bit thanks to a combination of factors. For one, Marshmauro still hasn’t had a chance to get on the 2021 version of this game yet. Personal reasons have the defending champion waiting for his chance to work out the kinks. M1kielMiles’ race was cut short on a collision (that you can see below) where he couldn’t avoid Mxgzzy after he spun coming out of a turn. It’s hard to drop the AlphaTauri outfit too far down the rankings considering the prowess that Marshmauro brings and that M1kelMiles is certainly good enough to be a part of a championship-winning team being a race winner in season one himself. The only way to go from here is up for this team. Shout out to PatientAI who stepped into the open Marshmauro seat and secured a P9 finish as a substitute driver.

3. Red Bull

The preseason ranking given to Red Bull now needs to be completely thrown away now that the team has completely changed. Enter Mxgzzy, formerly (and still known as to those who just don’t care to call him by his new name) known as M2 took home second in the season one championship in convincing fashion. He has solid pace, and after missing the majority of season two, he was back on the track in the opening round of season three showing that he hasn’t lost a step. DylanL2017 is one of the two drivers to pick up a DNS in this one. Missing out on this race will set the rookie back in the standings, but this team should do some big things this season.

2. Williams

This team has also changed drastically, but there is something special brewing in the land of the Williams this season. silkwever is new to the HSRL scene and showed his pace in round one taking home the race win and the fastest lap of the Grand Prix. The talent at the top of the grid is something to behold this season, and if what we saw from silkwever is in fact his true pace, you can add him to the ones to watch for the driver’s championship as the season progresses. PWW BlueFlame moved from Red Bull to Williams in the off-season adding plenty of experience and talent to the lineup. Despite the DNF for him, you have to expect that he will be in the mix for the driver’s championship at the end of the season. This team is one that could very easily be standing on the top of the constructor’s championship podium when round 14 in Australia is said and done.

1. Alpine

Welcome to the top of the power rankings, Alpine. When both of your drivers finish in the points and were a highly regarded team in the first place, it’s hard to not have them jump up a couple of spots. That’s exactly what we have here. Unlike Ferrari (the only other team to have both drivers finish in the points), Alpine is made up of two veteran drivers who have been getting better and better as the seasons go on. HSR Anarky72 has been on the podium so many times that I have lost count at this point and TC45MG has gone from scoring no points in the entirety of season one to being one of the most consistent drivers competing for points each and every week in season three. It’s a team that is working really well right now. Sure, on paper there are teams with more talent perhaps, but sometimes that talent gets excited and takes a DNF. With these two, DNFs should be rather rare.

Want To Join HSRL?

Hot Seat Racing League is an F1 Esports league racing on Xbox. The league focuses on clean racing and having a great community base that is welcoming for all no matter the age or language spoken. If you are interested in joining, send the league a DM on either Facebook or Twitter.

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