Amid the most chaotic season in F1 Fantasy history, Rahim from the United States stands atop the Global League heading into the final six races of the season. In just his second year of playing the game and his third year following the sport, Rahim leads 2.4 million teams in his quest to earn Paddock Club passes to a 2025 Grand Prix. I had the pleasure of chatting with the pilot of PorscheF1 about his ascent to the top of the Global League, his unique approach to chip usage, and how he plans to manage his team until Abu Dhabi.
FanAmp: How long have you been playing F1 Fantasy and have you ever achieved success like this before?
PorscheF1: I actually only started watching F1 in 2022. I had been a motorsports fan before that, but didn't get into F1 until the Miami GP that year. I've been a fantasy sports fan my whole life. My first year playing F1 Fantasy was thus 2023 - nothing too memorable, I was still quite unfamiliar with the sport at that point. However, the Fantasy game definitely contributed to my obsession with F1 as the year went on.
FanAmp: Do you use any tools, websites, or F1 Fantasy content creators to guide your lineup decisions?
PorscheF1: During an F1 week, I try to digest as much news as possible, and then make my own lineups before checking content creators/sims (as best I can). I mainly use F1 Fantasy Tools to verify that my preferred lineup is not too suboptimal, & to evaluate the Expected Value of chip usage (in particular, Wildcard). For what it's worth, I don't find the race pace information on the F1 official site very useful. I also occasionally check betting lines for any surprises.
FanAmp: When checking the betting lines, what are some indicators you look for?
Porsche F1: I think there’s a lot of nuance here, but I generally use it like I do F1FantasyTools/Rhter sims, to confirm/deny what my eyes are telling me. For instance, if I see a team do well in practice (a la Mercedes in Canada), I would expect their odds of winning to go up. If they do, then it confirms to me that they’re a legit contender. Conversely, if the lines are unchanged, then I maybe discount the practice a little bit. I also look for cases where lines have moved a lot, indicating that sentiment on this driver is shifting, and worth a thorough re-evaluation. DNF odds are somewhat useful for identifying the potentially risky C tier drivers (which I try to avoid at all costs).
FanAmp: Was there a specific race or lineup decision that launched your team to the top of the Global League?
PorscheF1: I had a near perfect Monaco and Canada, where I avoided most of the carnage, and was quite agile in shifting my team around. Namely, Canada, where Mercedes looked great in practice, and made for a nice pivot off of the struggling Ferrari. I think also sticking with Norris in the Netherlands, when others had begun to lose faith, was big. In general, I much prefer an environment where the winning car is in doubt, and big point differentials can be had by picking the correct front runners (like in those weeks), as opposed to back markers.
FanAmp: Were you impacted by any of the crushing moments of the season (Haas double DSQ/DNF at Monaco, Ferrari DNF at Canada, Russell DSQ at Spa)?
PorscheF1: I've been fortunate to avoid any massive issues this year. Obviously part of that is luck, but also, especially when picking back markers, I am pretty defensive. For instance, most people probably questioned why I kept Bottas on my team instead of Logan Sargent, and then still kept him after Colapinto was promoted. The main reason is that I considered Bottas to be the safest of those cheap assets, and would rather sacrifice a few points of upside, to prevent a DNF risk. It's also the reason why I don't normally play someone like KMag.
FanAmp: Which chips do you have left and are you targeting specific races to use them? Many strategists still have their 3X DRS Boost and are thinking of using it at COTA. Would you recommend using it there or waiting for a later race?
PorscheF1: I still have 4 chips left (3X DRS Boost, Wildcard, No Negative, and Final Fix). I wouldn't say I'm targeting any particular race. In fact, the reason I have so many chips left is that I view the optionality of taking advantage of unforseen information (i.e. grid penalty, etc.) quite highly, and haven't seen many such opportunities to this point. I'm also totally fine not using some of my chips, in order to keep my options open (for instance, since I have Final Fix left, I would need a good reason to use Wildcard, which locks me out of Final Fix that weekend). In general my advice is to not force it, and if you don't see an obvious opportunity, just be patient.
FanAmp: There's some debate over whether Limitless is best at a Sprint weekend or a non-Sprint weekend. Do you lean toward either side on this topic and where did you use your Limitless chip?
PorscheF1: Using Limitless at a low overtake track early in the season makes a lot of sense. I did use it in China. I think in terms of importance: 1. Early in season (where a driver like Max may be unattainable); 2. Low overtake environment & good weather; 3. Sprint weekend.
FanAmp: Final Fix fooled many of us at Baku with Lando Norris. What kind of scenario do you think we'll need to see for the Final Fix to pay dividends?
PorscheF1: I think a case similar to Baku actually, where a high profile driver qualifies poorly, due no fault of his own (though on a track potentially more conducive to overtakes), is a good Final Fix spot. Or if there is a late engine penalty/pit lane start. I joked to my wife that if I didn’t already have Lando on my team, I think it would have been a great Final Fix spot to put him in.
FanAmp: At the top of the Global League, do you feel like you need to play a more conservative game or are you still open to taking tactical risks?
PorscheF1: Being #1, I'm fortunate enough to be able to play my highest EV [Expected Value] team - i.e. I don't have to be contrarian for the sake of it. That said, since I try to make my own line ups, I'm not going to defer from my process, and pick a perceived higher owned team, as a blocker or something. In general I think F1 Fantasy is too random to play like that. That said, you may have noticed that I've been on the Lando 2X lineup for quite a while now (which seems conservative). That's simply because I thought it was significantly the best. Hopefully COTA brings some interesting upgrades to spice things up again.
FanAmp: Do you have any early predictions about COTA?
PorscheF1: No predictions yet, but I really hope at least 3 teams are competitive. The game is a lot more fun when the premium driver choices differ (and not the same amongst all teams like last race with Lando). Depending on how practice looks, Liam Lawson might be a good play as well, with his grid penalty.
The Fantasy Formula is your home for exclusive F1 Fantasy content you won't find anywhere else. Check out our interview with 2023 Global League Champion, David Jurca, as we prepare for the United States Grand Prix. Stay tuned as we announce more special guests in the coming weeks!
