As F1 Fantasy strategists prepare to make their biggest decisions of the year, F1 Fantasy Tools developed the most impactful resource since their groundbreaking Team Calculator. This revolutionary dataset, dubbed Elite Data, provides insights to the lineups and chip usage of the Global League's top players in a format never seen before. FanAmp was granted exclusive access to Elite Data ahead of its public release this weekend. Let's review how the tool works and my top takeaways from the data.
Elite Data
The second installment in the F1 Fantasy Tools v2 suite, Elite Data shares the chip usage and asset selection rates across two critical player bases: the Global League Top 500 and the top 500 patrons that subscribe to F1 Fantasy Tools Premium. While asset selection rates are published by F1 Fantasy for the entire Global League, understanding the lineup patterns for the most engaged and successful teams provides substantially more valuable insights. Meanwhile, chip usage data has never been published before.
Data Reveal and First Impressions
The Chip Usage tab presents the percentage of players that used each chip at each Grand Prix weekend. The Settings option enables users to remove the % symbol and display round numbers to enhance mobile accessibility. Patrons can select their T1, T2, and T3 teams and the tool will highlight the races where each chip was used.
A few facts stand out right away. On this week's episode of The Fantasy Formula, we touted the 3X DRS Boost as a top chip option for one of the final three Sprint weekends, and 40% of the Top 500 Global League teams already used it. As the remaining teams use their 3X Boost, we will see seismic shifts in the rankings. A common theme among top teams is deploying the Limitless chip at the Chinese Grand Prix - 46% of the Top 500 took advantage of the highest scoring opportunity this season for a Limitless team. Another 27% used No Negative in Miami and 11% at the Austrian Grand Prix - all told, 84% of elite teams used this chip on a Sprint weekend.
The Drivers and Constructors tabs provide a fascinating look at the state of the game. Lando Norris is selected on 98% of Top 500 teams and the 2X-Boosted driver on 94% of those teams. Almost as popular, a staggering 97% of these teams include newcomer Franco Colapinto, who provides a combination of stability and cost cap flexibility.
Notably, as the #2 driver after Norris, Oscar Piastri (53%) is selected on more teams than Charles Leclerc (40%). Selecting Leclerc for the USGP could provide a subtle differential for teams looking to improve their ranking, but Piastri's SQ1 exit offers huge overtaking opportunities in the Sprint. Currently, 0% of the top teams run Max Verstappen while many can afford a Norris/Verstappen pairing. Verstappen's Sprint pole presents a high-upside opportunity for teams with larger budgets.
Moving to the constructors, we see a tale of two teams. 99% of the Top 500 run McLaren and 89% include Ferrari, so at first glance the constructors provide little opportunity to stand out. George Russell secured an improbable front row start for the Sprint, but can fantasy strategists trust Mercedes' race pace? I expect McLaren and Ferrari to feature prominently among the Top 500 again this weekend.
The team at F1 Fantasy Tools plans to introduce more enhancements after the public release of Elite Data, and FanAmp will be there every step of the way with unique insights and analysis. Tune into The Fantasy Formula Live one hour before the United States Grand Prix, where we will use this data to craft the best lineups for the fourth Sprint weekend on the 2024 calendar.
