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Each player gets to pick five drivers and one constructor, spending a budget of $100m
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F1 stars Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen
The new Formula One season is here, and that means F1 Fantasy is back.
The game will see millions of motor sport fans pick their fantasy selection of drivers for an imaginary $100m budget.
F1 Fantasy began four years ago and it has grown rapidly in popularity. The 2022 season will reward those players who are able to spot the early trends as F1’s fresh regulations shake up the grid.
Each player gets to pick five drivers and one constructor ahead of the first race of the season in Bahrain, spending a budget of $100m.
They also pick a weekly ‘turbo driver’ whose points are doubled – that driver cannot be worth more than $20m, however. And there is a ‘mega driver’ chip which can be used three times during the season to triple the points of any one driver in the team.
The main championship contenders like Lewis Hamilton ($33.5m) and Max Verstappen ($24.5) will set you back a substantial portion of your budget, so managing your money and finding the value picks is key. Driver prices will fluctuate over the season based on performance and popularity in the fantasy game.
Players can make up to three changes to their team per week, up until the start of qualifying.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner in the garage during Day Two of testing
One key to success in Fantasy F1 is riding the price waves and increasing the value of your team. You can do this by identifying the best value picks each week, and also by buying and selling strategically – so buy a successful driver at the end of a race on Sunday and sell him on later the following week for a profit.
It’s worth biding your time when it comes to making your final substitutions, however. Practice on Friday will generally reveal plenty about what go down in qualifying, so waiting as long as possible to soak up information will help in making the right decisions each week.
Given the budgetary restrictions, and the fact that most players will have some combination of Hamilton, Verstappen, Mercedes or Red Bull, the area to get a jump on the rest is in the midfield pack.
Will Ferrari come to the fore? Can McLaren be the best of the rest? What about AlphaTauri, who have tested well and have an excellent talent in Pierre Gasly? Choose the best driver in their own team in order to pick up ‘beat team mate’ points so try to avoid those duos who are evenly matched.
Pierre Gasly was fastest during Formula 1 Testing in Bahrain on Day 1
Qualifying:
Q1 Finish
1 pt
Q2 Finish
2 pts
Q3 Finish
3 pts
Qualified ahead of team mate (driver only)
2 pts
Did not qualify
-5 pts
Disqualification from qualifying
-10 pts
Qualifying Position Bonuses:
Pole position
10 pts
2nd place
9 pts
3rd place
8 pts
4th place
7 pts
5th place
6 pts
6th place
5 pts
7th place
4 pts
8th place
3 pts
9th place
2 pts
10th place
1 pt
Race:
Finished Race
1 pt
Per position gained (max. +10 pts)
2 pts
Finished ahead of team mate (driver only)
3 pts
Fastest lap
5 pts
Per position lost (max. -10 pts)
-2 pts
Not classified
-10 pts
Disqualification from race
-20 pts
* Race Positions Gained: Race positions gained are relative to Qualifying finishing position or Sprint finishing position where applicable.
** Classification: Cars that have covered 90% of the number of laps covered by the winner (rounded down to the nears whole number of laps) will be deemed to have finished the race. Cars that have covered less than 90% of the number of laps covered by the winner (rounded down to the nearest whole number of laps), will not be classified. Classifications are based on FIA decisions
Race Position Bonuses:
1st Place
25 pts
2nd place
18 pts
3rd place
15 pts
4th place
12 pts
5th place
10 pts
6th place
8 pts
7th place
6 pts
8th place
4 pts
9th place
2 pts
10th place
1 pt
Streaks:
Driver Qualifying – driver qualifies in the Top 10 for 5 qualifying sessions in a row
5 pts
Driver Race – driver finishes in the Top 10 for 5 races in a row
10 pts
Constructor Qualifying – both drivers qualify in the Top 10 for 3 qualifying sessions in a row
5 pts
Constructor Race – both drivers finish in the Top 10 for 3 races in a row
10 pts
* When a driver or constructor achieves a streak, that streak will reset and must be built up again. For example: A driver achieves five top tens in a row and will be awarded a streak, but must achieve another five top tens in a row to get streak points for a second time.
** Sprint is excluded from Streaks calculations.
Sprint:
Finished Sprint
1 pt
Per Position Gained (max. +5 pts)
1 pt
Finished ahead of team-mate (driver only)
2 pts
Fastest lap
3 pts
Per Position Lost (max. -5 pts)
-1 pt
Not classified
-5 pts
Disqualification from Sprint
-10 pts
* Sprint Positions Gained: Sprint positions gained are relative to Qualifying finishing position.
** Sprint is excluded from Streaks calculations.
Sprint Position Bonuses:
1st Place
10 pts
2nd place
9 pts
3rd place
8 pts
4th place
7 pts
5th place
6 pts
6th place
5 pts
7th place
4 pts
8th place
3 pts
9th place
2 pts
10th place
1 pt
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F1 stars Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen
Getty Images
Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner in the garage during Day Two of testing
Getty Images
Pierre Gasly was fastest during Formula 1 Testing in Bahrain on Day 1
Getty Images
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