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

F1 Fantasy players face a tough decision ahead of the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: the 3.7-mile Baku circuit blends ultra-long and high-speed straights where some cars will shine, with narrow and unforgiving city streets which play to the strength of others.

That makes it difficult to predict which of the closely-matched front-running teams is likely to come out on top. But while Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull‘s performance has varied from one weekend to the next, McLaren has remained the most consistent and reliable source of points.

Starting from its 1-2 finish at the Hungarian GP in July, the Woking outfit has finished no lower than fifth, claimed six out of a maximum possible eight podium places, and scored 305 F1 Fantasy points — an average of 76.25 per race weekend.

Lando Norris has also been the grid’s highest scoring driver, with 137 F1 Fantasy points tallied over the last four grands prix (an average of 34.25 per race) while team-mate Oscar Piastri has accumulated the second-highest total, with a debut race win at the Hungaroring, a fourth-place finish at Zandvoort and subsequent podium finishes at Spa and Monza earning him 125 F1 Fantasy points (an average of 31.25 per race).

Over the same period, no other team has come close, with Ferrari tallying 218 points, Red Bull 208 and Mercedes 171.

With only eight races remaining, F1 Fantasy players are quickly running out of time to take advantage of McLaren’s form — if they haven’t done so already. Norris and Piastri are in weekly contention for pole positions and race wins; the MCL38 looking like the car to the beat on any type of circuit; and the team motivated and focused on claiming both world championships, it’s tempting to cram in as many papaya coloured assets into your F1 Fantasy team as possible.

For a very reasonable $77m, you can have Norris ($26.6m), Piastri ($24.2m) and McLaren as a constructor ($26.2m). Given that every current driver has increased in price during the year, boosting team values, that should leave budget for at least one other front-running constructor (Mercedes/Ferrari) and some value-for-money driver picks.

But with Norris and Piastri continuing to wage war against each other on-track and Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull in race-winning contention, you may not want to put all your F1 Fantasy eggs into Zak Brown’s basket. And if Kevin Magnussen is part of your team, then read on to find out why you must transfer the suspended Haas driver out for Baku — or face a hefty penalty.

Read on for our tips and predictions for the Azerbaijan 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 possible at the Azerbaijan GP

While McLaren has often been the pace setter at the most recent grand prix weekends, strategy blunders and critical mistakes have allowed others to capitalise and sneak away with race victories. So, with title-contending pressure continuing to rise, it remains sensible to diversify your F1 Fantasy line-up — if only a little bit.

Of the six non-McLaren potential race winners (Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez) three of them are at least $0.8m cheaper than both Norris and Piastri. It’s also worth noting that many of the listed drivers above have also had vastly better Baku-based success in the past than either of the McLaren aces in the form of pole positions, podium places and race wins.

If you’ve opted to choose McLaren as one of your constructors of choice, we’d still advise that you pair it with an accompanying McLaren driver. Depending on who you choose, this should then leave you an estimated remaining budget of around $70m, which you should spend on experienced assets which have either a history of success around Baku or are renowned for keeping clean even during chaos-filled grand prix.

With those criteria in mind, here’s who we think you should pick to fill out your F1 Fantasy line-up for the 2024 Azerbaijan GP:

Charles Leclerc ✅

Charles Leclerc is a great alternative for either Norris or Piastri. Other than a rough period of races between Canada and Great Britain, the $24.9m Monégasque has been among the very best drivers in the field and over the last four grands prix has scored the third-most F1 Fantasy points of any driver (114).

Although he may have never won in Baku, Leclerc has been a force to be reckoned with in past Azerbaijan GPs. He took two pole positions in the same weekend in 2023; was leading in 2022 before suffering an engine failure; and finished fourth in 2021. In his current form which dazzled in the paddock in Monza, and with an upgraded SF-24 underneath him, Leclerc could be the man to beat in Baku.

Nico Hülkenberg ❌

Nico Hülkenberg has long been heralded (by us) as one of the best value drivers on the grid. But since announcing his departure from Haas, his form has dropped significantly. After scoring a total of 59 points between the Canadian GP and the British GP, the German has extracted just five points from the following four races.

Hülkenberg is still perhaps the best driver for under $10m. But with reduced incentive for improvement before his move to Sauber next year, we’d recommend pinching the purse strings and investing in someone a little cheaper yet potentially more prosperous…

Franco Colapinto ✅ / Oliver Bearman ❌

In his first F1 race weekend, Franco Colapinto impressed behind the wheel of his Williams FW46. Replacing the dismissed Logan Sargeant, Colapinto scored 11 Fantasy points on his debut courtesy of five overtakes, six positions gained and a 12th place finish at Monza.

Azerbaijan will be a largely different challenge, but for just $5.3m the Argentine’s inclusion in your F1 Fantasy line-up could free up the budget cap to include another top constructor or some better midfield options.

However, F1 Fantasy’s other new option is much less attractive. Oliver Bearman will be returning to F1 Fantasy, after his substitute Ferrari performance earlier this season. Unfortunately, his impressive drive in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and 26 F1 Fantasy points haul appears to have skewed his value, so that he’s now priced at $15m, just short of Fernando Alonso’s $16.2m price tag.

You’d need to be incredibly optimistic to choose Bearman — who replaces the suspended Magnussen at Haas — at that price, even though he does have a great history of success in Baku, having secured pole and won both the sprint and feature race in F2 for Prema last year.

Kevin Magnussen ❌

On the subject of Magnussen, his suspension means that he can’t be transferred into teams, but managers who already have him in their squad can keep him. They really shouldn’t.

F1 Fantasy’s rulemakers have confirmed that the Haas driver will incur penalty points, as if he was entered into the race weekend. This means a score of -25 for failing to qualify and failing to finish the race.

This didn’t apply to managers who kept Logan Sargeant in their team for the Italian Grand Prix. Even though the F1 Fantasy app states that “Not Classified penalty points apply” for the Monza race, his total score was 0. That will be seen as a good result for many who avoided the risk of having another low-priced driver score negative points that accrue for those who drop back in the race or retire.

It appears that this was due to a loophole that hadn’t been anticipated by developers and it has been closed for Baku. Anyone with Magnussen or Sargeant still in their team should transfer them out or face a penalty.

Sergio Perez 🤔

Red Bull is in a performance rut as of late, having failed to reach the top step of the podium since the Spanish GP. But while all eyes are focused on Max Verstappen‘s dwindling title advantage, could Sergio Perez actually be the driver to haul Red Bull back to the top?

The Mexican is the only driver to ever win twice on the Baku City street circuit and out-qualified Verstappen for the sprint and the Grand Prix in Baku last year.

Being the racing superpower it is, it’s hard to discount a Red Bull resurgence in the remaining eight races of the 2024 campaign, and for $23.5m, Perez could be the cheapest way to take advantage of it.

What F1 Fantasy Chips should I use in Baku? 

Although there are only a handful of grand prix weekends remaining in 2024, we’d recommend holding onto your remaining chips and using them at races where more points are on offer, such as the sprint races in COTA, Brazil and Qatar.

With Singapore also up next, the unpredictable Marina Bay street circuit could provide a great chance for you to use your Final Fix Chip, which allows you to make a single change to your line-up between qualifying and the race. On a circuit where overtaking is tricky, you should make sure the pole sitter is in your team!

My F1 Fantasy team for Baku

Following a brilliant drive in Monza aboard a heavily upgraded Ferrari, Charles Leclerc has become the newest addition to my F1 Fantasy line-up, writes Cambridge Kisby, controversially replacing Lando Norris, who seems to be feeling the pressure of title contention. I’ve also made a small $1.7m saving in the process.

The Italian GP winner partners Oscar Piastri — who has proved a reliable and consistent source of points — as well as some risky yet cheap options in Zhou Guanyu, Valtteri Bottas and Franco Colapinto, with Bearman’s price too high to consider swapping him for the Williams rookie.

McLaren and Mercedes remain my constructors of choice, as for the bargain price of just $49.6m, you can have two potential race-winning constructors’ who will likely also qualify high up the grid.