The Fantasy Formula: F1 Sector 1 Recap

Welcome to the Sector Recap, an all-new segment brought to you by The Fantasy Formula, the best place for news, analysis, and exclusive interviews to dominate your F1 Fantasy mini leagues. This recap resembles the format of our popular live show, where we highlight the biggest stories in fantasy and tech, for the first sector of the 2024 calendar (Bahrain through Miami).

With over 2.1 million teams already in the mix, F1 Fantasy continues to grow worldwide. The Fantasy Formula was selected to host a Featured League and we’re proud to share that over 100,000 teams joined to date. It’s not too late to join, just follow this link to compete with a thriving group of fantasy strategists!

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Why are we excited about the F1 Fantasy Presenters League?

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The biggest news in the game surrounded the creation of an F1 Live league, where our favorite presenters from F1TV compete for fantasy glory. Unlike previous seasons, fans can now see every presenter’s lineup week to week to observe the different approaches they take to set their lineups. 

After finishing dead last in 2023, Laura Winter is firmly in control of P1 this season. Laura joined us in April to discuss her approach to setting lineups and the behind-the-scenes smack talk she shares with her fellow presenters. 

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Formula 3 and F1 Kids presenter, Chris McCarthy, is enjoying a mighty campaign in his rookie season and holds sole possession of P2. In an exclusive interview with The Fantasy Formula, Chris discusses how his lineup choices are a family affair.

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An exciting Sector 1 F1 Fantasy Discovery!

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In a season where the rules of F1 Fantasy largely remained the same, a breakthrough discovery on how the game determines pricing changes shocked the strategist community. Essentially, all drivers and constructors fall under three price tiers. Each tier can achieve a range of price changes based on their normalized points ratio, a driver’s points divided by the average number of points for all drivers. Budget drivers carry more risk of DNFs and poor performance but have the highest possible price increases, which allow players to afford better drivers as the season progresses. We can now predict which drivers will gain the most value each weekend, adding an exciting new element to our lineup selection.

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What ‘hit list’ data trends did we see in the first 6 F1 Races?

To adapt our popular Hit List segment to this Sector Recap, here are a few essential F1 Fantasy data trends worth monitoring as we enter Sector 2:

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1. Alex Albon is still the most selected driver, but should that trend continue? Many strategists follow the crowd and stack their lineup with the most selected drivers but the best indicator of success is points per million dollars of cost (PPM). Albon’s PPM of -0.04 ranks 18^th among all drivers while the third most selected driver, Daniel Ricciardo, ranks dead last in this metric (-0.25). Meanwhile, Sergio Perez is the third most valuable driver in the game by PPM (1.19) but only 13% of teams feature the Red Bull veteran

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2. For the second year in a row, Lance Stroll finds himself among the top 5 in overtakes. For midfield drivers that qualify low and gain places in the Grand Prix, overtakes boost the scoring potential of these assets and also increases the likelihood of gaining value. Stroll’s consistency in this category makes the Canadian a sneaky play moving forward. After a difficult start to the season, Esteban Ocon’s resurgence is highlighted by his increased overtaking. Since Alpine installed a new floor, Ocon contends for points on a weekly basis. Overtake leaderboards like this highlight some sneaky buy-low picks.

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3. Earlier we discussed the importance of cost cap building on affording better drivers later in the season. Ferrari lead both the driver and constructor price gain leaderboards after their hot start, but a resurgent Haas team has quietly provided a strong boost to fantasy cost caps in Sector 1. As the European upgrade packages sweep the paddock, can Haas keep up with the pace of development and fight for top-10 finishes? If so, Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen will feature prominently on many fantasy teams in Sector 2.

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Who are our F1 Team Winners and Losers?

Written by Terry - F1 Coffee Corner

This season has been unique in the sense that we have seen updates before the start of the European races. Traditionally the calendar meant that in the past we saw very little changes to the cars for Sector 1 with the majority of the teams waiting until the more logistically friendly European road trips as the place to introduce updates. However, the changes to both the races and the new introduction of a second parc ferme for the Sprint races has seen the teams bringing a different approach to updates this season and here are my top 3 and bottom 3 Tech Corner winners and losers.

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Winners ‍

Red Bull

Now whilst this may seem a strange choice after the RB20 has been beaten twice in the opening races the reason, why it’s my top choice is because of the sheer changes to the car as the covers came off in Bahrain. This car is innovative, with the team taking the platform that was ultimately the most successful car in Formula 1 history in the RB19 and adapting it in such a way that it's almost unrecognizable from its predecessor. The car has redesigned its cooling package and introduced a new update in Japan around the sidepods and inlets as well as new floor edges just to name a few of the new things on the RB20. The RB20 has proved that its one lap pace especially in the hands of triple world champion Max Verstappen is also rapid with a stunning 6 pole positions this season an area in which the RB19 wasn't as strong in as well as showing its aerodynamic qualities looking after its tyres a feat that with these modern ground effect cars is no mean feat. 

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McLaren

How can we have a tech update winners list that doesn't include the most recent entry into the Winners club which is, of course, Lando Norris in Miami? After a disastrous start last season in their development, McLaren at Silverstone introduced the update that no one had seen mid season in the cost cap era to provide its talented drivers a car that after the disappointment of the start of last season they were able to start showcasing their skills. Fast forward almost a year and this season started with the McLaren being an evolution of last season's car, cementing its place in the top five but not being able to really challenge for the race. That all changed in Miami when the team introduced to Lando Norris a B-spec car. The McLaren had no fewer than 10 updates to it covering every part of the car: new suspension, new sidepod inlets, new engine cover and sidepods, new front wing the list went on and on. The result was a car in Miami that was faster than the Red Bull and lapping consistently quicker but with this result also asks one huge question, and that is was this a one off and a combination of factors that came together to give Mclaren and Lando the win or actually is this new spec car the one that's going to start challenging Red Bull for race wins?

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Haas

Whilst I could have chosen Ferrari for this part, it's actually the team with the Ferrari parts that I have selected as in my top 3. The story at the start was off the track with the news of Guenther Steiner leaving and being replaced by Komatsu and the talk swiftly moved to them being at the back of the grid for the season opener. How wrong was this? The team using the Ferrari customer parts quickly showed they had got to grips with their car moving to the top of the midfield. Heavily reliant on the Ferrari suspension and customer parts benefiting no doubt from the improvements Ferrari have made in the rear suspension area, especially around tyre deg. A car that's quick in qualifying is now also working in the race and with updates coming will be one to watch for the second sector for sure as they gain even more understanding of that car.  

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Losers 

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Mercedes

The return of James Allison for 2024 sparked huge anticipation for the former champions after the W13 and the W14 concept had failed, sparking the introduction of the W14b last year in Monaco before the return of James for the 2024 designed car following the more familiar concept seen on the grid. The early development news sounded positive; there was the introduction of the revolutionary front suspension arm in pre-season testing that looked like it allowed multiple setup changes. This was followed by a new front wing with an innovative design take on the rules that prompted the teams to seek clarification on the rules with a very thin connection being used rather than the normal fitting. This was also coupled with a new gearbox and rear suspension package that saw the team ditch the pull rod for a new push suspension system as well as the new floor. However despite some updates in the first part of the season the team find themselves further away than ever from not only the race win but also the podium in what's been one of their worst starts ever to a season.

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Alpine

The team from Enstone have had a disaster pre season and start to 2024. As a team who were regularly just outside the top 5 they found themselves rock bottom in Bahrain  with not only a car that was struggling but a team in turmoil as the technical team left Alpine. The team already suffering from an engine deficit found themselves with a car that was too heavy and too slow as the season started. A tough few races to the start of the season before a new floor in China and then Miami has breathed some signs of life back into the team with them starting to pick up some places and more importantly some points. 

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Williams

The 3rd spot on my list was hard to choose. I had Sauber with their pitstop equipment, Aston Martin and their loss of pace but I've decided to go with Williams. This is purely down to I believe some bad calls made from the team from Grove. The team are using an outdated rear suspension and gearbox as they started development early meaning they couldn't take the new parts from Mercedes. Of course who could forget the Australia spare chassis debacle that led to them only competing with one car but for me it's the lack of progress made on their development which is why I have placed them here. The team took a car which had a top speed that made it competitive over some races but at the same time made them vulnerable on other tracks and have tried to dial into the aero performance with the result this season a car thats not able to play to its strengths it had but hasn't come far enough to overcome their weaknesses and sees them now rock bottom of the championship on zero points.  

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What do we predict for Sector 2 of F1 Fantasy?

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Adam’s Predictions:

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1. Alpine emerge as the best midfield drivers in F1 Fantasy, above Williams, Haas, and Lance Stroll.
2. Lando Norris will lead all drivers in Driver of the Day wins in this sector in an improved McLaren and fan support at an all-time high.
3. The Fantasy Formula will have at least one F1 Live league guest on the show by the summer break.

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Terry’s Predictions:

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1. Ferrari to mount constructor championship battle 
2. Aston Martin to come out of sector 2 ahead of Mercedes in the constructors championship 
3. A new driver on the grid for sector 3…..

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F1 Fantasy has two episodes a week to help you become a F1 Fantasy Pro! Join top ranked F1 Fantasy players Adam (F1FantasyHQ) and Rob (F1 Fantasy Hub) on Tuesdays AND watch the show live the hour before F1 Qualifying each F1 Race weekend featuring Terry (F1CoffeeCorner)! 

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If you have any questions you want answered on future shows, want your lineup critiqued, or just want to consult Adam and Rob on anything else F1 Fantasy-related, then download the FanAmp using their invite link and reach out in their Community Base. You can also find all the essential info on the show's official homepage. 

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