Fantasy Preview: Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Haas Handoff to Bearman

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In the wake of Kevin Magnussen’s one-race ban for accruing 12 penalty points, Haas announced that Ollie Bearman will step in this weekend for his second race of the season. Bearman finished P7 at Jeddah for Ferrari while Carlos Sainz recovered from an emergency appendectomy. At that race Bearman scored 26 points and earned Driver of the Day with a whopping 48% of the vote.

As of this writing, Magnussen remains active in the game but should move to Inactive and score 0 points this weekend. Until Bearman returns to the game and we see his new price, continue to follow the advice from last week’s Fantasy Fallout column: preserve transfers by bringing in a stable midfield asset, such as Nico Hulkenberg, and divert any remaining cost cap to drivers in Tiers A and B.

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Ferrari For Real?

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After a home victory at Monza, Ferrari looks to continue their upward trajectory at a circuit they finished P3 (Leclerc) and P5 (Sainz) at last season. Ferrari finished among the top 3 constructors in fantasy scoring in each of the last 3 races and has knocked off Mercedes as the best constructor after McLaren. Only McLaren have scored more Qualifying teamwork points on the season than the Scuderia and only Red Bull have more Fastest Pit Stop points. The Ferrari constructor is now firmly back on the menu.

Keep an eye on Charles Leclerc as a top alternative to Oscar Piastri. Leclerc has now outscored the Australian in back-to-back races and started the season by outproducing him in 7 of the first 8 races. For teams with a larger budget or taking advantage of the Sargeant loophole, a Lando Norris/Charles Leclerc duo may provide a huge differentiator in the final stretch of the season – especially for those still carrying their Autopilot and 3X DRS Boost chips.

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Baku History

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As King of the Street Circuits, Sergio Perez feasts at this event. He earned four podium finishes and two wins in his last five races at Baku, including a thrilling victory in a Red Bull 1-2 finish last season. Perez failed to finish higher than P4 in each of his last 11 races and looks to Baku to bust out of his latest slump.

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Charles Leclerc retired due to power issues in 2022 but otherwise carries a strong record at this race, while Max Verstappen leads all active drivers with 3 DNFs but finished in the top 2 in 2022 and 2023. Speaking of early retirements, this race featured 7 DNFs in both 2017 and 2018 followed by at least 4 DNFs in every season until 2023, when only Zhou Guanyu and Nyck De Vries failed to reach the checkered flag.

Overtaking may be scarce once again this weekend as Baku generated the fourth fewest overtakes in 2022 and the fifth fewest in 2023. Last year’s shortening of the main DRS zone left several drivers longing for more power and lamenting the lack of overtakes.

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Weather

A pleasant weekend awaits with no chance of rain. Save No Negative until at least Singapore next week, a race notorious for treacherous conditions and rain-induced incidents.

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Three Lineups for Three Budgets

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$116M Budget

With Lando Norris, McLaren, and now Ferrari carrying momentum into this weekend, this team takes advantage of all three and surrounds Lando with three strong midfield drivers. Hulkenberg looks to rebound after early contact at Monza ruined his day, while Esteban Ocon posted a positive score in each of the last eight races.

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$121M Budget

Still a solid build, this entry point for triple McLaren and Ferrari requires three back marker drivers. At a circuit known for higher DNF rates, the budget drivers that survive may be in line for a $0.5M price increase – albeit it could come at the expense of another driver on your team.

For those eligible for the Sargeant loophole, this alternative brings in Charles Leclerc and his strong form both at this circuit and in recent races. Leclerc will likely graduate to Tier A after this race, so hopefully he earns another strong price increase.

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$126M Budget

If Mercedes make a case in Free Practice to reconsider them, this balanced lineup pairs Norris and Hamilton with strong midfield drivers. At this budget, though, I’d recommend leaning into more conventional lineups (NOR/PIA and NOR/LEC) to mount an advantage on lower-budget teams.

This Sargeant-friendly build showcases the advantage of the loophole: two frontrunners, two reliable midfield drivers, and no back marker to lose value or points.

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The Fantasy Formula show returns with the Weekend Preview on Tuesday, September 10th, only on FanAmp's official YouTube channel.

Then tune in Saturday, September 14th at 7AM EST/12PM BST for the Deadline Live Stream where we'll answer all your questions before lineups lock. Be sure to head over to the FanAmp app to share your lineup in The Fantasy Formula base and have it reviewed during the broadcast. See you there!