F1 Fantasy Cost Caps: Explained | F1 Fantasy Guide (2025)

The Basics

Each new team starts with a $100M cost cap to select a team of five drivers and two constructors. The game updates the values of all assets after each race based on performance - drivers and constructors can gain or lose value. For example, if a driver finishes P2, wins Driver of the Day, and records the Fastest Lap, they likely scored enough points to earn a price increase. On the other hand, if a driver finished with a negative score their price probably decreased.

In the example above, let's assume the driver's value increased by $1.0M after that strong performance. The cost cap for teams that selected this driver also increases from $100M to $101M, giving them more buying power moving forward. By the end of the season, top teams can build over $30M in value and afford multiple top drivers and constructors such as this team below:

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With this in mind, growing our team's cost cap unlocks the ability to bring in higher quality drivers later in the season and provides a competitive advantage. So how are price changes calculated so we can spot the best values?

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Pricing Tiers and Price Deltas

Using the first price change data of 2025, a team of strategists on the F1 Fantasy Tools Discord cracked the new and complex formula used by the game this season. First, all drivers and constructors fall into two pricing tiers:

• Tier A: Greater than $20M
• Tier B: Less than $20M

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With these definitions in place, they realized that the two tiers undergo different price changes:

• Tier A: -$0.3M, -$0.1M, $0.1M, $0.3M
• Tier B: -$0.6M, -$0.2M, $0.2M, $0.6M

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Since all of the price changes to date fit these parameters, how does the game determine which price change is assigned at the end of each race weekend?

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Points Per Million (PPM) and Performance Ratings

Points per Million (PPM) is determined by taking the score of an individual driver or constructor and dividing by their price - it helps to compare the relative value of every asset in the game. By calculating the average PPM over the previous three races, the results match to one of four performance ratings:

• Great: average PPM greater than 0.4
• Good: average PPM between 0.3 and 0.4
• Poor: average PPM between 0.2 and 0.3
• Terrible: average PPM less than 0.2

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We can then take this performance rating and the price of the driver to determine the expected price change:

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Calculating Australia and China Price Changes

After reviewing the price changes from the Australian Grand Prix, it became clear that the developers still used a three-race PPM average:

• Race 1: An imaginary race where all assets scored 0 points
• Race 2: Another imaginary race where all assets scored 0 points
• Race 3: Australian GP prices, points, and PPM

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Let's use Oscar Piastri as an example: Oscar scored 10 points at his home circuit and entered the weekend at a price of $23.0M. His PPM for Australia can be calculated as 10 divided by 23, or 0.43. The game used 0 for the PPM of the "other two races", so the average of 0, 0, and 0.43 comes out to 0.14. Referring to the table above, an average PPM less than 0.2 leads to a "Terrible" performance rating and a $0.3M loss for a Tier A asset.

For China, expect the game to take the average of Australia, China, and one last imaginary race with a 0 PPM before taking a true three-race average for the Japanese Grand Prix. By then, price changes will become more favorable and we can use data from previous races to predict when a driver or constructor is in line for a value increase.

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Using Previous Races to Predict Value Increases

This section is under construction while the community develops an approach to harnessing this information. Stay tuned, this will be updated shortly!

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Be sure to check out our F1 Fantasy Guides for details on how to use the six powerup chips, how to grow your team budget, and much more. If you have questions be sure to join The Fantasy Formula community by downloading the FanAmp app. You can also watch The Fantasy Formula on the official FanAmp YouTube channel every race week for detailed lineup advice, exclusive interviews, and a breakdown of the latest news.