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

Over the last three Formula 1 race weekends, no driver has scored more F1 Fantasy points than Max Verstappen.

With the title stakes at their highest, the Dutchman has delivered: scoring a sprint victory at COTA, recovering to sixth in Mexico City and securing a Grand Prix win in São Paulo to accumulate 136 F1 Fantasy points — 20 more than Charles Leclerc and 53 more than Lando Norris.

But is he still the best driver to lead your line-up?

Verstappen’s recent run of hot form has put him on the cusp of a fourth consecutive drivers’ world championship: as long as Norris doesn’t outscore him by three points or more in Las Vegas, Verstappen will be able to celebrate another title success with two rounds to spare. But such a circumstance could create problems for your F1 Fantasy squad over the course of the weekend — should you have either Verstappen or Norris in your line-up.

Just as we saw in Austria and Mexico City, Verstappen is not averse to sabotaging Norris’s race in order to benefit his own, which has seen him force the McLaren driver wide and off the circuit to prevent him from scoring much-needed points. Even though Norris has no realistic chance of besting Verstappen to the 2024 drivers’ crown, he won’t want the reigning champion to get the better of him on another occasion. And with Verstappen often unwilling to yield, we’d say there’s a higher than average chance of contact which could mean big F1 Fantasy points losses — and at such a critical point in the season too!

So with Verstappen and Norris potentially preoccupied with ruining each other’s races, who should lead your F1 Fantasy squad in Las Vegas? We’d suggest splitting your chips between Ferrari and Mercedes.

The Scuderia have been the outfit to beat during two of the last three race weekends, as Charles Leclerc drove to a dominant win at COTA while Carlos Sainz followed suit a week later in Mexico City.

A similar outcome could be expected in Las Vegas. During last year’s trip to the Nevada desert, the Scuderia pairing set the two fastest times in qualifying — although Sainz started in 12th due to a grid penalty — and Leclerc later finished on the podium, splitting the dominant Red Bulls.

Should Ferrari be able to convert another Vegas front row lockout into a 1-2 finish in 2024, F1 Fantasy players who house all three Scuderia assets (Leclerc, Sainz and the constructor card) could expect to score a minimum of 115 points.

But before you dump all your hopes on an ultra-quick red car, it may be worthwhile keeping your eye on the pair of Silver Arrows too. Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets in both FP1 and FP2, indicating a sudden return to form for the Brackley outfit and its seven-time world champion. Team-mate George Russell was not too far behind in either session, and finding a way to fit either driver into your F1 Fantasy line-up this weekend could see your team quickly rocket up the F1 Fantasy leaderboards.

Read on for more tips and predictions for the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix and remember to join our 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 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix

Las Vegas marks the beginning of the end for the F1 Fantasy season, meaning there is only a few races left in which players can use up their remaining chips.

If you still have your Limitless chip (which allows you to build a line-up with an unlimited budget) this weekend, we’d suggest activating it this weekend to take full advantage of Las Vegas’ plentiful overtaking opportunities. In 2023, the race featured 99 overtakes, the most in any dry F1 race since 2016, and with such a minimal performance gap at the front of the field, there’s bound to be plenty of opportunities for drivers to earn overtaking bonuses.

Equally, you could use your Triple DRS chip, but with little information about who may lead the field this weekend, we’d recommend saving it for the final sprint of the season in Qatar — where there is an extra point-scoring session.

If you haven’t got any chips to use, the best way to score the most F1 Fantasy points possible this weekend could be by splitting your line-up — combining at least one asset from Ferrari and Mercedes — accompanied by some dependable midfield drivers that aren’t prone to mistakes.

Having Leclerc and Hamilton in your line-up could be the best driver pairing possible. But if the purse stings are a little tight, we’d recommend pairing Leclerc with Russell or Hamilton with Sainz — which should not only mean that you’ll still be able to afford two front-running constructors (ideally McLaren and Ferrari) but it should allow you to choose from some more experienced, consistent and therefore more expensive midfield options.

Be aware that due to the Las Vegas Grand Prix’s late-night setting, European players will need to get up early in order to finalise their line-ups ahead of qualifying, with the deadline expiring at 6am (GMT) on Saturday morning.

Liam Lawson ✅

Liam Lawson has returned to Formula 1 with a bang.

Since taking over from Daniel Ricciardo at RB at the US Grand Prix, the Kiwi has scored 33 F1 Fantasy points — that’s more than Nico Hülkenberg, Yuki Tsunoda, Valtteri Bottas, Alex Albon, Franco Colapinto, Zhou Guanyu, Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso and Zhou Guanyu.

But while Lawson has shown sheer pace at times, most recently in qualifying in São Paulo where he started Sunday’s GP from fifth on the grid, his F1 Fantasy points total is more down to his consistency and an ability to keep out of trouble.

Several drivers were handed massive point penalties in Brazil for spinning and crashing across the weekend, but Lawson was one of the few that was able to keep his car on track.

Lawson has never driven in Las Vegas before, and could initially find it tricky to adapt to the peculiar surroundings, but for just $11.1m, he’s arguably the best budget driver currently available.

Pierre Gasly/Esteban Ocon ❌

Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly pulled off a brilliant double podium finish for Alpine in São Paulo — a result which sent the Enstone outfit skyrocketing up to sixth in the constructors’ standings.

But don’t be fooled. With clear skies forecast for Las Vegas, the French pairing are unlikely to replicate such a strong showing this weekend as the performance of the A524 will likely return to its lowly standards — resulting in minimal points for your F1 Fantasy squad.

However, if you had Gasly or Ocon in your line-up already, now may be the best time to sell them. After the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, both drivers received a significant increase in value (Gasly up $1m and Ocon up $1.5m). Selling either or both drivers will give you extra budget and allow you to afford some better midfield options such as Nico Hülkenberg or the returning Kevin Magnussen.

Franco Colapinto ✅

Franco Colapinto has become a frequent member of Motor Sport’s F1 Fantasy recommended list — and you can’t really blame us.

Other than a costly crash in São Paulo, the Argentine driver has been incredibly consistent since taking over from Logan Sargeant at Williams at the Italian Grand Prix: scoring 5.5 points per weekend for the bargain price of just $7.1m.

Although, like Lawson, Colapinto is yet to drive around the high-speed Las Vegas street circuit, the characteristics of the track could suit his Williams FW46 well. Albon and Sargeant qualified fifth and sixth respectively for last year’s Las Vegas GP.

But even if he should qualify further down the field, Colapinto has not been shy about taking the fight to the cars ahead of him either. Across the six races he’s entered so far, he’s completed 27 overtakes and gained 16 positions — scoring 43 points F1 Fantasy points in the process.

For players on a tight budget, Colapinto has become a must-have. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for his team-mate…

Alex Albon ❌

2024 been a wretched year for Alex Albon.

After setting the F1 world alight with an array of great performances last year, Albon has spent much of his time on the sidelines in 2024 — crashing out or being forced to retire.

Numerous errors (admittedly not all made by him) have cost F1 Fantasy players 109 points so far this season, and Albon is currently the only driver who has a negative score for the season (-9).

Albon has also lost out to his team-mate (who costs $8.1m less) in three out of the last five races. So if you’re going to pick any Williams driver for your Vegas line-up, take Colapinto.

My F1 Fantasy team for the Las Vegas GP

For the Las Vegas GP, I’ve chosen to utilise my Limitless Chip writes Cambridge Kisby.

With an unlimited budget, I’ve chosen five drivers, all of whom have a chance to win. This includes Verstappen, Leclerc (who I have given my double DRS to), Norris, Sainz and Hamilton.

As always, Ferrari and McLaren remain my constructors of choice.