Fantasy Fallout: Doohan Replaces Ocon

Earlier this week, Alpine announced that Esteban Ocon would relinquish his seat for this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in favor of Jack Doohan. Ocon exits F1 Fantasy as the tenth highest scoring driver of the year, including a stunning P2 finish at Brazil that earned him a season-high 36 points. Let's review the starting price for the rookie in his F1 debut and debate whether Doohan is worth a punt this weekend.

Doohan enters the game at $10.9M, significantly less than Ocon ($14.4M) and $0.9M less than his teammate, Pierre Gasly ($11.8M). The last time a driver entered the game, Liam Lawson's starting price matched his teammate, so the game has yet to establish a clear pattern on how replacement drivers are priced.

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With just one race to go, Doohan makes for an interesting differential play this weekend. Alpine's double podium at Brazil and Gasly's P5 finish at Qatar indicate that the team unlocked more pace in the second half. If Doohan finishes in the top-10, especially during a constructor battle with Haas for P6, he could win a Driver of the Day award. Oliver Bearman provided the most recent example of a DOTD awarded to a driver in their debut race.

Consider Doohan over the equally-priced Liam Lawson (18 points combined over last four races) on teams that run a strong midfield with Max Verstappen, a high-upside play identified in this week's Fantasy Preview. Doohan's performance this weekend will provide some critical insight into his 2025 price and fantasy outlook.