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The most exciting F1 season since 2021 approaches its finale at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The Global League leaderboard experienced a massive shakeup in this race last season as strategists took bold chances in a final push for F1 Fantasy glory. With the Constructors' Championship on the line and Max Verstappen regaining his early-season form, we'll need every bit of information at our disposal to set the best lineups for this weekend. Strap in as we prepare for the final act of the 2024 F1 Fantasy season.
Doohan to Replace Ocon
Seemingly lost in the chaos after Qatar, multiple outlets reported that Alpine and Esteban Ocon agreed to terminate his season, opening the door for Jack Doohan to run at Abu Dhabi. The deal allows Ocon to participate in post-season testing for Haas in exchange for his seat in the final race. Doohan joins Alpine during a tremendous run of form that includes a double podium in Brazil and a P5 result for Pierre Gasly at Qatar.
Ocon exits the game as F1 Fantasy's 10th highest scoring driver with 130 fantasy points. His $14.4M price tag falls betwen the two Aston Martin drivers and well above Pierre Gasly at $11.8M. Gasly is selected on 27% of teams and provided a strong differential to the Williams and Sauber back markers in recent weeks.
Doohan's fantasy prospects this week depend entirely on how the game prices him. In a recent example, Liam Lawson joined the grid at the United States Grand Prix at a price equal to his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda. If Doohan enters at $11.8M with a team that logged two top-5 finishes in the last three races, he suddenly enters the conversation for sleeper picks this weekend. Teams desperate for a punt could invest in a rookie driver at a high-overtake circuit with the hopes of a sentimental Driver of the Day nod. Look for another Fantasy Fallout article once Doohan is active.
Global League and F1 Live Showdown
Abu Dhabi played the spoiler in last season's Global League, with David Jurca storming back from outside the podium places to take the title. This year, Leapers One continues to fight off the competition and holds a 100-point lead entering the final week. Meanwhile, just 60 points stand between P2 and P5 teams with two incredible prizes on the line. These strategists will likely deploy radical lineups to stand out and finish among the top 3. The Fantasy Formula is proud to welcome the pilot of Leapers One, Andrew Harris, to the Abu Dhabi Preview show this week so our community can get advice from the very best in the game.
Over in the F1 Live league, Laura Winter inched further away from Lawrence Barretto after a sensational performance from Zhou Guanyu. Her lead extended to 86 points as she looks to complete a sensational worst-to-first turnaround from 2023. The podium places in this league are taking shape, as Lawrence leads Chris McCarthy by 67 points, and Chris stands apart from the rest of the field by nearly 300 points.
Yas Marina History
Max Verstappen enters this weekend with four consecutive victories and six straight podiums at Abu Dhabi, including a thrilling win to clinch the World Drivers' Championship in 2021. Despite clinching this year's title in Las Vegas, Verstappen continued to improve at Qatar, qualifying on pole (but started P2 due to a penalty) and winning the Grand Prix. An expensive differential, Max's history at this circuit and recent form suggest another big fantasy performance awaits.
The pendulum shifted to McLaren in Qatar but Ferrari are poised to mount a comeback at Yas Marina. Charles Leclerc finished P2 in each of the last two races here, while Sainz finished P3 and P4 in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Lando Norris has never finished higher than P5 in Abu Dhabi as McLaren look to secure the Constructors' Championship. George Russell owns a P3 and P5 finish at this race since joining Mercedes but his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, recorded a P9 finish and a DNF over the same period.
For deep sleepers, Sergio Perez rides two straight top-4 finishes at Abu Dhabi into this weekend while Yuki Tsunoda's best Grand Prix result (P4) occurred at this race in 2021. Tsunoda's improbable Driver of the Day award last season after finishing P8 ultimately decided the Global League winner.
Crucially, this race ranks among the top 5 circuits for overtakes on the calendar and four drivers completed 8 or more overtakes here last season. Expect a high scoring affair in F1 Fantasy and deploy the Final Fix chip on any frontrunners that exit in Q1 and Q2.
Weather
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A few degrees warmer than last weekend at Qatar, the finale begins at 7:00PM local time so the air and track temperatures will drop from the daytime highs. For the third week in a row, the cooler temperatures favor Mercedes and George Russell stands out as a differential play.
Three Lineups for Three Budgets
In keeping with the theme set last week, let's review one traditional and one highly-differential build in each budget class:
$125M
This track favors Ferrari as they look to rip the Constructors' Championship from McLaren. A triple Ferrari + Mercedes build is a full send on the Scuderia in a double premium driver build. Geroge Russell's history at Abu Dhabi is strong but for this team to deliver, Lewis Hamilton must regain his qualifying form after a disappointing stretch.
For strategists looking to avoid the disaster-prone Williams team, this lineup builds around Max with the hopes of a fifth straight win at Yas Marina. Three high end midfield options at a high overtake circuit offers some promise in a high-scoring affair, while the VCARB duo of Tsunoda and Lawson have a lot to gain (or lose) with a strong performance this weekend.
$130M
For teams looking to play a conservative finale, this lineup provides a stable points floor. A minor differential can be deployed by moving the 2X DRS Boost from Norris (the most popular driver for the boost among the Top 500) to Leclerc.
If anyone worries about McLaren collapse at a circuit they traditionally struggle at, Verstappen and Russell stand out. Russell continues to lead the grid in qualifying form in the second half but, again, the strength of Mercedes hinges largely on Hamilton channeling a vintage performance.
$135M
This lineup costs more than it used to after Pierre Gasly and Zhou Guanyu each landed $1.0M price gains at Qatar. For teams looking to make small inroads on a league leader, this lineup crucially removes Colapinto to reduce the risk of DNFs. Moving the 2X DRS Boost onto Leclerc enables another potential gain.
This team packs a huge punch through the combination of Verstappen and Leclerc. The P1 and P2 fantasy scorers from Qatar are shaping up for another big week and this takes full advantage of the additional budget.
The Fantasy Formula returns to answer your lineup questions ahead of Qualifying this Saturday at 8AM EST/1PM GMT only on the official FanAmp YouTube channel. 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!
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