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Like it or not, the United States Grand Prix is one of the biggest F1 races of the season. The Circuit of The Americas isn’t the greatest track in the world, but there are a lot of TVs in America and they tune in for this race. Yes, many TV sets will still be tuned to the NFL, but there are multiple screens in an American home and at least one will be showing the Formula 1 race at COTA.
The DraftKings Aramco United States Grand Prix 2022 slate locks at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Set your DraftKings Fantasy F1 lineups here: F1 $50K Grand Prix [$10K to 1st]
1. Max Verstappen ($12,800) — A simple and successful statistical strategy to follow is Verstappen’s track history. If he won the GP in 2021 in a season when the competition was much closer, then he’s an easy pick to repeat at that track in 2022. He won at COTA in 2021.
2. Charles Leclerc ($11,200) — Too much stacks against Leclerc this weekend. Red Bull has more pace, better tire degradation management and they don’t make Ferrari-type mistakes. There will be multiple pit stops at COTA — never a good sign for Ferrari.
3. Sergio Perez ($9,800) — This is not quite a home race, that will be next week, but the large Latin-American fan base in Texas will make COTA a secondary home race. Perez already has the car and talent, this is just an extra push that can lift him higher up on the podium. Also, Red Bull can clinch the Constructor Championship this weekend.
4. Carlos Sainz ($9,200) — The last time F1 was in the US (Miami), Ferrari placed both of their drivers on the podium but not on the top step. Ferrari was strong at COTA last season, and 2021 wasn’t particularly their best season.
5. Lewis Hamilton ($10,200) — Will Lewis Hamilton get a win this season and keep his streak alive? Mercedes is bringing an aero upgrade to the United States Grand Prix, so there is an outside chance he can end the drought this weekend.
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6. George Russell ($8,400) — Realistically, the Mercedes aero upgrades are not going to close the significant speed disparity between Red Bull and Merc. Furthermore, this massive enterprise needs to focus on the long term. It would not be wise to focus all of their resources on persevering Hamilton’s streak.
7. Esteban Ocon ($6,600) — At Japan, Ocon earned his best finish of the season. The race was a bit of an outlier based on track and weather, but the Alpine upgrades were fast all weekend — wet or dry.
8. Fernando Alonso ($7,800) — The old man has still got it. Alonso is not going to beat the top-3 teams but he finishes better than the cars that he is supposed to beat (as long as his Alpine does not break down).
9. Sebastian Vettel ($6,000) — It should not be a surprise that Vettel was in the optimal DFS lineup at Suzuka. Vettel is an exceptional wet-track driver and he’s been optimal seven times this season (third-most).
10. Lando Norris ($7,200) — At Singapore, McLaren earned a podium (Norris) and an impressive fifth-place finish (Daniel Ricciardo). In a wet Japanese GP, Alpine clawed back to the top of the mid-pack. McLaren is the unofficial American team and was fast at COTA in 2021.
Set your DraftKings Fantasy F1 lineups here: F1 $50K Grand Prix [$10K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is greenflagradio2) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.