Who we are

Welcome to the Empire of the Colonies League (Yes, We're Still Doing This)

For over 20 years, the Empire of the Colonies Fantasy F1 League has been the battleground where reputations are made, egos are shattered, and someone—usually me—inevitably picks a driver who bins it in Turn 1 of every bloody race. Or famously selects someone who's out with syphilis or some such affliction.

For the first time in our illustrious history, we've got our own proper site. I'm Mark, your new League Commissioner for 2026. Jim, who stewarded this league with distinction for years, has graciously stepped down after the 2025 season absolutely destroyed him. He's decided to focus fully on his own team this year, presumably to recover from the psychological trauma of finishing... well, let's just say "not first." We thank him for his service and look forward to watching him struggle from the sidelines. I'm sure we can look forward to many a complaint about scoring irregularities and suspicious point calculations.

After 20 years of platform-hopping, dealing with sites that crashed mid-season, and managing increasingly complicated spreadsheets that would make NASA jealous, I finally cracked and built something better. With the 2026 regulation changes turning F1 upside down, it seemed fitting to give the league a proper home. Automated calculations. A leaderboard that actually works when you need it. Proper infrastructure. That's the plan anyway. However, like all technical advancements, there will undoubtedly be some teething problems which will arise, and they will be dealt with fairly and always in my favor, naturally.

Same league. Same competition. Same people making the same questionable driver choices year after year. Just with better infrastructure and a new Commissioner who definitely won't let the power go to his head (but is absolutely open to bribes).

Let's make it another 20 years.

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Rules, Regs. & Scoring

TEAM SELECTION RULES

Budget: £75 Million

Team Size: No maximum limit - select as many drivers as you want within your budget

Driver Pricing Tiers:

  • Elite Tier: £24M - £28M (Top championship contenders)

  • Premium Tier: £16M - £22M (Consistent point scorers)

  • Value Tier: £8M - £15M (Budget options and rookies)

Selection Deadline: Teams must be submitted before FP1 (Free Practice 1) of each race weekend

Team Changes: Selections lock once FP1 begins and remain locked through the race weekend

Submission Method: Online form through the league website

Team Name: Required for each submission

Late Submissions: Not accepted once selections are locked. (Not Without Significant Bribe…)

HOW IT WORKS

Compare qualifying position to race finishing position

  • Gained positions = bonus points

  • Lost positions = penalty points

Examples:

  • Qualified P10, finished P5 = +5 positions = +10 points (GP) / +5 points (Sprint)

  • Qualified P3, finished P8 = -5 positions = -10 points (GP) / -5 points (Sprint)

PENALTY POINTS

Steward Penalties (per incident):

  • Grand Prix: -5 points

  • Sprint Race: -3 points

Penalty types include:

  • Time penalties (5 sec, 10 sec, etc.)

  • Grid drops for next race

  • License points

  • Drive-through penalties

  • Stop-go penalties

Each separate incident counts individually!

DNF (Did Not Finish):

  • Grand Prix: -10 points

  • Sprint Race: -5 points

BONUS RACE MULTIPLIER

One Mid-Season Race = 50% More Points

  • The designated bonus race for 2026 is Race 8, Monaco

  • ALL points scored in that race are multiplied by 1.5

Example:

  • Base points for race: 21 points

  • With 50% bonus: 21 × 1.5 = 31.5 = 32 points (rounded)

SCORING EXAMPLES

Example 1: Standard Race Weekend

Driver: Max Verstappen

  • Qualifying: P2 = 8 points

  • Race Finish: P1 = 25 points

  • Position Change: P2 → P1 = +1 position = +2 points

  • Penalties: None = 0 points

  • Total: 35 points

Driver: Lance Stroll

  • Qualifying: P15 = 0 points

  • Race Finish: P9 = 2 points

  • Position Change: P15 → P9 = +6 positions = +12 points

  • Penalties: 1 penalty = -5 points

  • Total: 9 points

Driver: George Russell

  • Qualifying: P4 = 5 points

  • Race Finish: P11 = 0 points

  • Position Change: P4 → P11 = -7 positions = -14 points

  • Penalties: None = 0 points

  • Total: -9 points (yes, negative scores are possible!)

Example 2: Sprint Weekend

Friday: Sprint Qualifying
Saturday: Sprint Race
Sunday: Main Qualifying & Grand Prix

Driver: Charles Leclerc

Sprint Events:

  • Sprint Qualifying: P3 = 3 points

  • Sprint Race: P2 = 12 points

  • Sprint Position Change: P3 → P2 = +1 = +1 point

  • Sprint Subtotal: 16 points

Main Race Events:

  • Main Qualifying: P1 = 10 points

  • Main Race: P1 = 25 points

  • Main Position Change: P1 → P1 = 0 = 0 points

  • Main Race Subtotal: 35 points

Weekend Total: 51 points

Example 3: Bonus Race (50% Multiplier)

Driver: Lando Norris at Monaco (Bonus Race)

  • Qualifying: P3 = 6 points

  • Race Finish: P3 = 15 points

  • Position Change: P3 → P3 = 0 points

  • Penalties: None = 0 points

  • Base Total: 21 points

With 50% Bonus: 21 × 1.5 = 31.5 = 32 points

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LEAGUE MANAGEMENT

Commissioner: Mark (2026 season)

Commissioner Powers:

  • Lock/unlock team selections for race weekends

  • Manage scoring disputes and discrepancies

  • Interpret rules in ambiguous situations

  • Adjust regulations as needed (with appropriate abuse of power)

  • Accept bribes (standard rates apply)

Former Commissioner: Jim (retired 2025 - focusing on his own team after a "challenging" season)

Dispute Resolution:

  • All scoring disputes directed to the Commissioner

  • Commissioner's decision is final (and absolutely not influenced by bribes)

  • Appeals may be submitted in writing along with appropriate compensation

Technical Notes:

  • Platform: Custom-built league website

  • Data submission: Automated logging to Google Sheets

  • Scoring updates: Calculated after each race weekend following official FIA results

  • Leaderboard: Updated within 48 hours of race completion

  • Teething problems: Expected and will mysteriously always favor the Commissioner

IMPORTANT REMINDERS

✓ Submit your team before FP1 each race weekend
✓ Stay within the £75M budget
✓ Negative points are possible - choose wisely!
✓ Sprint weekends offer double the scoring opportunities
✓ Position changes can make or break your weekend
✓ Penalties and DNFs hurt - a lot

Questions? Contact the Commissioner (bribes accepted in cash, favors, or premium whisky)

Commissioners Powers are ABSOLUTE.

This is not a Democracy…

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“To achieve anything in this game, you must be prepared to dabble in the boundary of disaster.”

Stirling Moss

SCORING SYSTEM

QUALIFYING POINTS

Standard Qualifying:

  • P1 (Pole): 10 points

  • P2: 8 points

  • P3: 6 points

  • P4: 5 points

  • P5: 4 points

  • P6: 3 points

  • P7: 2 points

  • P8: 1 point

  • P9-20: 0 points

Sprint Qualifying:

  • P1: 5 points

  • P2: 4 points

  • P3: 3 points

  • P4: 2 points

  • P5: 1 point

  • P6-20: 0 points

RACE FINISH POINTS

Grand Prix:

  • P1: 25 points

  • P2: 18 points

  • P3: 15 points

  • P4: 12 points

  • P5: 10 points

  • P6: 8 points

  • P7: 6 points

  • P8: 4 points

  • P9: 2 points

  • P10: 1 point

  • P11-20: 0 points

Sprint Race:

  • P1: 15 points

  • P2: 12 points

  • P3: 10 points

  • P4: 8 points

  • P5: 6 points

  • P6: 5 points

  • P7: 4 points

  • P8: 3 points

  • P9-20: 0 points

POSITION CHANGE POINTS

Grand Prix: +2 points per position gained / -2 points per position lost

Sprint Race: +1 point per position gained / -1 point per position lost