FANTASY PRIXVIEW - 2024 MIAMI GP

Disclaimer:

The picks and strategies mentioned in this article are solely the opinions of the author, based on their analysis and understanding of Formula 1 fantasy. These suggestions are provided for informational purposes only and do not guarantee success in any fantasy league or betting activity. The author does not take any responsibility for the outcomes of using these suggestions, and individuals are encouraged to make their own decisions based on their research and analysis. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

I love it when a driver or team proves the world wrong. China was expected to be tough for McLaren, but they surprised everyone, especially with Lando Norris's Sprint pole, largely thanks to the rain. In Sunday's race, the Ferraris couldn't match Norris's pace. This marks a significant step forward for McLaren, who were previously seen excelling only on specific types of circuits. However, the question remains - does this recent success indicate that they can now compete on a wider range of tracks? Only time will tell.

McLaren could be more optimistic about their chances this weekend. The Miami International Autodrome offers something for all the top teams. There are long straights for Red Bull, medium and high-speed sections for McLaren, and a few slow corners that favor Ferrari. It promises to be a closely contested race.

It's important to note that Miami is a street/semi-permanent track characterized by low grip and high track evolution. Managing tyre wear effectively will be crucial, as excessive degradation could prove costly. While the straight sections offer opportunities for overtaking, Miami falls somewhere in the middle in terms of overtaking difficulty.

NOTE - The driver and team valuations have changed since the Chinese GP and are more reflective of the current pecking order. Furthermore, there is a new rule in place - your turbo driver must have a valuation of less than 35 million. Therefore, choose your teams wisely based on the latest developments.

Let's approach our weekend strategy from a different angle this time.

1. Sprint weekends offer more points, as the Sprint race, qualifying, and Grand Prix classifications are taken into account on GridMaster. Therefore, it's crucial to choose a team with strong potential to do well in all three sessions. Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes are the top picks in that order, and they were also the only teams to score in the Chinese Sprint.

2. The turbo rule has been tweaked, limiting your choice to a turbo driver priced below 35 million. This leaves out Max Verstappen (40 mil), Sergio Perez (37 mil), Charles Leclerc (36 mil), Carlos Sainz (36 mil) and Lando Norris (36 mil), who have been the top scorers this season and are currently the top-five in the drivers' standings.

3. In the recent Chinese GP round, four of the top five winners did not select ANY of the aforementioned drivers and instead chose the teams mentioned in Pt 1 as their constructor of choice. This suggests that success on GridMaster is not solely dependent on the top drivers but on making a smart choice for your turbo driver and maintaining a balanced team.

4. Considering the above, the next best options for a Turbo driver are George Russell (34 mil), Fernando Alonso (34 mil), Oscar Piastri (33 mil) and Lewis Hamilton (33 mil), among others.

5. For your second driver, consider those on the fringes of scoring points, such as Yuki Tsunoda (30 mil), Nico Hulkenberg (30 mil), Esteban Ocon (28 mil), Alex Albon (27 mil), and the likes.

Solid Choices

George Russell - Despite his team's challenges in understanding their car, Russell has quietly accumulated points, currently sitting 7th in the standings between Oscar Piastri and Fernando Alonso. Impressively, Russell has scored in each of the last nine Sprint races and was a favourite among prediction winners in the Chinese round.

Fernando Alonso - Since his return to F1 in 2021, Alonso has executed a simple yet effective game plan - push the car beyond its limits in qualifying and then maintain position during the race. This approach has seen him qualify in the top-five three times in 2024, with a best of P3. A consistent performer, Alonso can reliably earn a solid points finish, provided he avoids time penalties for "overly aggressive" maneuvers.

Esteban Ocon - Despite Alpine's slow start to the season, recent performances indicate a positive trend. While Alpine qualified dead last in Bahrain, both drivers made it to Q2 in China. Ocon has been the stronger performer of the two, reaching Q2 in the last three rounds and narrowly missing out on points with a P11 finish in China.

Nico Hulkenberg - Everything seems to be falling into place for Hulkenberg, who recently announced that he will be staying in F1 for another couple of years, playing a role in building up the Audi team. After scoring just once last year, he has already secured three points finishes in the first five races of this season. Hulkenberg's experience and consistency makes him a reliable contender for points, especially in the event of unexpected incidents like a DNF or a safety car.

Riskier Picks

Oscar Piastri - While Piastri showed promise last year, his sophomore season has seen a slight decline in performance. While he was closely matched with Norris last year, this year there has been a noticeable gap between them. Norris has achieved two podiums, whereas Piastri has yet to reach the podium. Although Piastri has finished as high as P4 twice, his other three results have been P8. Monitoring his progress throughout the weekend would be wise before making a decision, as there may be better options available at this point.

Team Options Option 1: Turbo - Fernando Alonso/George Russell (34 mil) + Esteban Ocon (26 mil) + Red Bull (40 mil)

Budget left - 0 mil

Option 2: Sergio Perez (37 mil) + Turbo - Esteban Ocon (26 mil) + Ferrari (37 mil) Budget left - 0 mil

Stats and facts -

1. Sainz has scored in each of the last eleven Sprints, the second-longest Sprint-scoring streak after Max Verstappen, who has scored in each of the thirteen Sprints held so far.

2. Carlos Sainz has never started on the front row of a Sprint race before.

3. The reigning champion has won the Grand Prix in each of the last six Sprint weekends.

4. Since Russell's Sprint win in Brazil 2022, his Sprint results have read P4, P8, P8, P4, P8, P4, P8.

5. Miami is yet to see a repeat pole-sitter, with Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez taking pole position in the first two events here.

6. The pole-sitter in Miami has always finished second in Sunday’s race.

7. The last eight rounds, starting from Brazil 2023, have all been won from the front row of the grid.

8. Max Verstappen has only one pole in the United States, which came in Austin in 2021. He’s however won each of the last six races in the country.
   

9.   It has been five races since Mercedes' last podium (a P3 in Abu Dhabi). This marks the longest interval for Mercedes without a podium in the hybrid era.

10. Leclerc has secured a pole position at each of the three current circuits in the United States - Austin, Miami, and Las Vegas, making him the only driver to do so.

11. Ferrari has only secured one victory in their last 15 races in the United States of America.

12. McLaren has yet to score any points at the Miami Grand Prix.

13. McLaren has one podium finish in the United States in the last 13 years, with Lando Norris finishing P2 at last year's United States GP.

F1 StatsGuru, also known as Sundaram Ramaswami, is a motorsport statistician and digital content creator. He runs the largest stats-based community on the internet and provides statistics to leading media houses in motorsport such as The Race, Motorsport, and Autosport. His stats have been featured on global broadcasts by David Croft, Will Buxton, and others. Despite his professional background in telecom engineering, his love for statistics developed over a decade of playing cricket fantasy with friends and colleagues. He is also currently a part of the WTF1 talent roster.