Fantasy Fallout: Lawson Replaces Ricciardo

Just four days after scoring a season-high 23 fantasy points at Singapore, VCARB removed Daniel Ricciardo from his seat in favor of Liam Lawson. Ricciardo’s swan song included a Fastest Lap and Driver of the Day award in a fantasy performance that equaled his six previous races combined. As the Australian fan favorite exits the sport, Lawson looks to capitalize on theopportunity and secure a drive for 2025.

Lawson competed in five races for AlphaTauri in 2023 while Ricciardo recovered from a broken hand. He debuted in F1 Fantasy at just $4.5M, a price equal to that of Ricciardo. Lawson delivered immediately, completing 13 overtakes en route to a season-high 19 points at Zandvoort. His lone hiccup came at the Qatar Sprint, where he went off track on the second turn and finished the weekend with -16 points. In all, Lawson scored 21 fantasy points in an admirable stint that earned him a second drive in F1.

Earlier this week, F1 Fantasy reintroduced Lawson at a price of $10.2M, equal to that of his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda. While it comes as a pleasant surprise that Lawson was priced $1.8M less than the driver he replaced, $10.2M places him squarely in no-man’s-land for Tier C drivers. He lacks the upside of Nico Hulkenberg ($10.7M; P12 for points scored, P3 for overtakes) and costs more than pure budget drivers, such as the Williams duo of Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto.

Looking ahead to the United States Grand Prix, teams with larger budgets may consider Lawson due to his anticipated engine penalty for the Sprint race. A back of the grid start with a fresh power unit could provide a solid score on Saturday. Outside of his debut weekend, though, let’s pivot to safer Tier C assets while Lawson reacquaints himself with the F1 grid.

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