F1 Fantasy: top picks & predictions for the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix

If George Russell‘s win at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix was an indication of Mercedes‘ possible return to race-winning form, Lewis Hamilton‘s victory at the British Grand Prix all but confirmed it. So should the Brackley outfit now be your F1 Fantasy constructor of choice, over the title-contending outfits such as Red Bull and McLaren?

Despite a slow start to the 2024 season, Mercedes has gradually grown more competitive race-by-race. Much-needed upgrades first applied in Canada have finally put Hamilton and Russell on a semi-level playing field with the likes of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris — allowing the British driver pairing to fight for race victories and podium places on a consistent basis.

As we’ve mentioned in the past, picking a front-running constructor which possesses two closely matched drivers can come with massive F1 Fantasy benefits, including bonuses for reaching the latter stages of qualifying as well as combined overtaking points. As of late, Mercedes has been the team to beat in that regard, scoring 245 points over the last four grands prix compared to the 237 scored by McLaren, the 218 scored by Red Bull and the measly 132 scored by Ferrari.

Considering the Brackley outfit’s form at Hungarian GPs of the past — which includes a pole position for Hamilton in 2023 as well as another pole position for Russell in 2022 alongside a double podium finish — as well as its current form, there are strong signs that its winning streak can continue for at least one more race weekend. Russell finished fourth during the first free practice session of the weekend in Hungary and Hamilton looked competitive on almost every compound throughout Friday’s running.

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F1 Fantasy: The rise of Mercedes?

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For $22.6m — the cheapest price-tag of any of the top four constructors — Mercedes is currently the best value F1 Fantasy team right now, with a points-per-million value of 10.8 over the past four races, compared to McLaren’s 9.1, Red Bull’s 7.5 and Ferrari’s 5.7.

Choosing the Brackley outfit over its rivals also comes with additional upsides, as its cheaper price tag gives you more chance of filling out the rest of your F1 Fantasy line-up with some big-name drivers.

Hamilton is actually the highest-scoring driver over the past four races, having accumulated 131 points since the Canadian GP, but is closely followed by Lando Norris with 130 and Max Verstappen with 129. The latter appear most likely to be competing for race wins over the remainder of the season, but after Hamilton’s ninth British GP triumph, it would perhaps be silly to bet against the seven-world champion finding a race-winning groove.

Read on for our tips and predictions for the British Grand Prix, and don’t forget to join the Motor Sport Fantasy league.

There are more on the rules and scoring in our F1 Fantasy full guide; and if you need some creative inspiration, check out our F1 Fantasy team name generator. For more information on the chips available and when to use them, we’ve got an F1 Fantasy chips explainer too.

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How to score the most F1 Fantasy points possible at the Hungarian GP

With overtaking a less than common occurrence at the Hungaroring, picking drivers who often qualify high up the grid may be a major key to F1 Fantasy success over the Hungarian GP weekend.

With on-track temperatures forecast to reach up to 33C, it’s also be worth investing in experienced drivers who know how to look after their tyres, as pitstop strategy can play a major role on whether a driver ends up on the podium or at the back of the point-scoring positions.

If you’ve followed our advice and decided on Mercedes as your constructor of choice, you’ll likely have partnered the Brackley outfit with some big name drivers such as Max Verstappen (who has won the last two Hungarian GP by dominant margins) and Lando Norris (who is the most likely candidate to challenge the Dutchman) — giving you a little under $40m to play around with.

With those criteria in mind, here’s who we’d recommend to fill out the rest of your F1 Fantasy line-up — and who to avoid:

 

Nico Hülkenberg ✅

Nico Hülkenberg is a prime choice for F1 Fantasy players in search of a bargain, with the German’s current tally of 74 points giving him a 0.64 points-per-million value through the first 12 races of the season. Every driver above him in the bang-for-your-buck ratings costs at least $20m — some much more!

Hülk’s most recent performance at the British Grand Prix is just an indication of the form he currently possesses, as he outqualified both Ferraris and retained his sixth-place starting spot throughout the race. He has also now equalled his Haas team-mate Kevin Magnussen in total F1 Fantasy points scored with a tally of 74 points a piece.

But for $1.1m less, Hülkenberg is by far the better option and he, surprisingly, still only features in 34% of line-ups!

Ferrari ❌

From potential title contention, Ferrari has suddenly slipped backwards in the running order after applying defunct upgrades in Spain which have since been removed. Not only has this had a profound effect on both the team’s and the driver’s position in the championship standings, but also F1 Fantasy player’s points totals.

Over the last four grands prix, the $23.1m Maranello outfit has scored just 132 points, giving them a points-per-million value of just 5.7. Meanwhile, Haas (who cost $1.7m less) has scored just 16 points less in the same time frame.

For both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, the future is uncertain with Ferrari’s performance at Hungarian GP of the past being underwhelming at best. In 2022, a strategy error saw both cars to finish outside the podium positions (fourth and sixth) and a lack of overall pace in 2023 resulted in an even poorer showing, with Leclerc crossing the finish line in seventh followed by Sainz in eighth.

In 2024, there is initial signs of improvement, as Sainz topped the time sheets and Leclerc finished just under three-tenths behind him in third. But a crash for the latter in FP2 may put doubts into the back of F1 Fantasy player’s minds.

 

Daniel Ricciardo ✅

RB may have fallen behind the likes of Haas and, occasionally, Williams in terms of sheer performance, but Daniel Ricciardo has gradually begun to find form amongst a crowded midfield — from a F1 Fantasy point of view anyway!

With a grand total of 32 points scored over the last four grands prix, Ricciardo is among the high-scoring drivers with a $10m price-tag — trailing only Magnussen (45) and his $9m Haas team-mate Hülkenberg (59).

It’s also hard to ignore the Honey Badger’s history of success at the Hungaroring, where he scored his second-ever grand prix win in 2014; finished on the podium in 2015 and 2016; and made his F1 comeback in 2023.

With a possible Red Bull seat up for grabs in the near-future of 2024, another positive performance in Hungary could return Ricciardo’s name to the mix — while earning F1 Fantasy players some big midfield points at the same time.

But if you’re still not convinced, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu could be good alternatives, with Sauber bringing major upgrades to the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend and showing good pace during the first two free practice sessions of the weekend.

 

Lance Stroll ❌

At first glance, Lance Stroll‘s F1 Fantasy output has been pretty respectable throughout the first half of 2024, having recorded the second-most overtakes of any driver so far this season and with 72 points to his name. But when his $15.1m price-tag is brought into consideration, the Canadian suddenly doesn’t seem worth the trouble.

Not only is his current tally less than both Haas drivers, but its also 39 points less than Aston Martin team-mate Fernando Alonso — who costs only $1.5m more and has been far more consistent on race day, with an average finishing position of 9.83 compared to Stroll’s 12.

Stroll has also been one of the more accident-prone drivers in 2024, having collided with several drivers and has failed to reach the chequered flag twice — first during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and then in the Miami GP sprint — which has cost F1 Fantasy players 36 precious points in the process.

 

Which F1 Fantasy Chips should I play in Hungary?

With overtaking often providing difficult around the Hungaroring, this weekend may be one of the best chances to use your Final Fix Chip. When activated, this chip will allow you to make one change to your F1 Fantasy line-up — while staying inside your budget — in between the end of qualifying and the start of Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Should Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari suddenly find a burst of pace or if Lando Norris bests Max Verstappen to the front grid slot, it may be worth ensuring that the pole man is in your line-up in order to score the biggest points totals.