F1 Fantasy: top picks & predictions for the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP
There are several key choices that could help you win big in F1 Fantasy for this weekend's 2025 Saudi Arabian GP. Here are our predictions; tips on drivers to avoid; which chips to play and further analysis
You can tell all these have DRS-boosted Piastri in their Fantasy teams
McLaren
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Oscar Piastri’s 2025 Bahrain GP was a masterclass in showing your F1 mettle, while his team-mate and main rival Lando Norris went to pieces.
It paid off for those who took Motor Sport’s Fantasy advice, the points flying in for McLaren’s Melbourne charger and others in our team – giving us crucial information on who to pick for this weekend’s Saudi Arabian GP.
With the Jeddah circuit making for one of the most unpredictable races on the calendar, it’s important to dig into the data and see who will help your Fantasy team navigate the stunningly fast street course and its pitfalls.
One McLaren man fading, the other rising…
McLaren
Crashes and safety cars are usually abundant at this track, meaning big Fantasy points could be pulled in by overtakes and points gained.
Along with championship form man Piastri, there’s a prodigious young charger likely to rack up more Fantasy points, a former Red Bull star in the form of his life and a rookie who could be on the verge of a big breakthrough.
While one team might look like an obvious pick, choosing your other could be an agonising decision.
It’s all in hand though, as we de-mystify F1 Fantasy decision-making in our Saudi Arabian guide below.
How did Motor Sport’s 2025 Japanese GP Fantasy picks do?
For the Bahrain GP Motor Sport advised players to jettison Norris (then-$29.9m) and Max Verstappen ($28.7m) for the much cheaper Piastri at $23.1m and use the spare cash elsewhere.
It proved to be the right decision. While Norris crumbled under the pressure by qualifying sixth and then had a messy race to third, Piastri showed nerves of steel to clean-sweep pole and the grand prix, resulting in 90 Fantasy points with the DRS Boost.
Piastri acknowledges his legions of Fantasy fans – he’s now owned by 33% of all players, more than Norris or Verstappen
McLaren
After Liam Lawson failed to impress in his Japanese GP Racing Bulls return, we recommended young Haas star Ollie Bearman instead — who promptly scooped up 22 Fantasy points by rocketing from last on the grid to 10th at the finish.
Courtesy of a battling race from 15th to 12th which involved some stout overtaking moves, Alexander Albon chalked up 15 Fantasy points while Isack Hadjar and Fernando Alonso both nabbed five apiece.
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With McLaren’s pole, double Q3 qualification plus a 1-3 race finish meant 92 Fantasy points for our first constructor, while Racing Bulls managed 22 despite neither car finishing in the top 10.
The Motor Sport selection currently ranks 1,345 out of over 30,000 teams in our league, showing the recommendations are largely working.
In our table (which you can join here), topping the Bahrain scorers was Visoko F1 (378) who used their Limitless chip: along with Piastri (90 points including DRS Boost) they also chose Lewis Hamilton (38), Lando Norris (32), George Russell (31) and Max Verstappen (22). The constructors selected were McLaren (92) and Ferrari (73).
We’re still currently going through the opening phase of the season where many blast through their chips early, making it difficult to see which players are actually making the wisest team choices.
Will you pick Racing Bulls or Haas as your second team?
Haas
Tellingly though, the overall Motor Sport table is now topped by a player who didn’t use a chip last week.
HeelsF1Team scored 253 Fantasy points by putting DRS Boost on Norris (64), as well as picking Bearman (22), Esteban Ocon (15) who rose to eighth from 14th with a clever tyre strategy, Pierre Gasly (13) who scored his first top-10 finish of the year in seventh and Lance Stroll (7).
Along with McLaren, HeelsF1Team picked Haas, with its double top-10 and a hatful of overtakes and places gained resulting in 40 points.
Similarly landoisgoated grabbed 235 Fantasy points with the same line-up but with Racing Bulls instead of Haas, a point we’ll highlight below on who to consider when choosing your team this weekend.
Motor Sport’s 2025 Saudi Arabian GP Fantasy choices: It’s time to use both your transfers
Oscar Piastri completely justified our recommendation last week by grabbing pole and the race win. He has a similar competitive level to Norris, but at $23.4m, is over $6m cheaper than his McLaren team-mate.
We predicted that Ollie Bearman might soon be out of reach if you didn’t buy him quick, and the Brit proved us right. By putting in another sensational performance to finish 10th, the Haas driver added $0.6m to his value — he’s now worth $7.9m. Other drivers in the same price bracket such as Nico Hülkenberg ($7.2m) and Liam Lawson ($7.2m) don’t appear to have the same Fantasy point-scoring potential. Keep him in your team.
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The same goes for Alexander Albon ($12.8m), who has been in the form of his career so far this season by banging in three consecutive points finishes to open this season. He’s likely to keep doing it. The Thai driver looks far more likely to score decent Fantasy points than other similarly-priced assets such as Carlos Sainz ($10.7m) and Lance Stroll ($9.7m).
Isack Hadjar ($5.1m) has been one of the more interesting driver case studies this season, in that he appears very fast but hasn’t scored the Fantasy points his talent deserves. This has either been down to himself (crashing on the formation lap) or the team (poor strategy dumping him out of contention in China). Bahrain was the first race this year where he hasn’t really looked like scoring points, but he’s worth giving a stay of execution for now – would you really choose Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto ($4.5m) or Jack Doohan ($5.6m) instead?
The key F1 Fantasy driver transfer for the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP
Ocon revels in the fact he’s becoming a Fantasy no-brainer
Haas
We would, however, recommend giving Fernando Alonso the boot. It’s not that we don’t think the Spaniard and his Aston might come good at some point, but another asset is scoring more Fantasy points – and you soon might not be able to afford him.
Esteban Ocon has snared big Fantasy points in three of the four grands prix so far this season. While this might not be a wonderful indicator for the entire season, in the short term it means the Frenchman might be soon be out of reach. Get him in!
The crucial F1 Fantasy constructor decision for the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP
While McLaren may be a no-brainer for your constructor line-up, it’s been trickier choosing the second team.
Racing Bulls ($9.2m) has appeared to have the fastest car out of the midfield, but its inexperienced drivers aren’t taking advantage. Williams (if you can afford it at $14.7m) is another option, but Carlos Sainz has had a torrid start to the season, pulling down its scores.
Therefore, we think Haas ($9.4m), which scored 40 Fantasy Points in Bahrain – continuing a trend since the start of the season – is worth choosing instead. It’s currently hauled in fifth-most constructor Fantasy points with 111.
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The note of caution that accompanies choosing Haas is that its sizeable Fantasy hauls have largely come from qualifying terribly (save for Ollie Bearman’s Japan Q3 appearance) and then gaining many places in the race.
It’s hardly a reliable recipe for success and soon other, faster, teams might get better at race execution.
That said, the Haas pattern might continue for the whole season, so it’s best to select the Banbury boys (and girls) now and see what happens before it gets too expensive.
Motor Sport’s 2025 Saudi Arabian GP F1 Fantasy team
Should I use any chips in the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP F1 Fantasy round?
With it not being a sprint weekend and, with no inclement weather in the Saudi desert on the forecast, we’d advise not using your chips this weekend – save them for the sprints!