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Formula 1 is back in The States. The international sport is making its annual fall trip to the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. DraftKings Fantasy F1 will celebrate the American F1 spectacle with a large fantasy racing contest that pays $10K to first place.
The DraftKings Lenovo United States Grand Prix 2023 slate locks at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday October 22, 2023.
Set your DraftKings Fantasy F1 lineups here: F1 $40K Grand Prix [$10K to 1st]
1. Max Verstappen ($16,400) — Once again, Verstappen was in the optimal DFS F1 lineup at DraftKings. Despite winning the Qatar Grand Prix and leading every single lap, he was not the Captain’s Pick. That’s been the norm. He’s been an optimal Fantasy Formula 1 pick 12 times, but he has not been the Captain’s Pick once.
2. Lewis Hamilton ($8,800) — Qatar did not work out for Mercedes. It happens. Hamilton’s average finish of 5.4, and 4.5 when not suffering a retirement, ranks second in Formula 1. It’s well behind Verstappen’s 1.4, but that’s a record breaking statistic
3. Sergio Perez ($9,400) — The DFS F1 rules limit the availability of Perez. He’s been in three optimal DFS F1 lineups. Two times he was the captain and every time Red Bull was the optimal constructor. Red Bull has been the optimal DFS F1 pick 10 times this season.
4. Charles Leclerc ($8,200) — It’s been a decent season for Ferrari. The team didn’t have the technical advantage they enjoyed at the beginning of 2022 and they transitioned to a new Team Principal. All-in-all, Leclerc is motoring along. He’s earned a top-5 finish in four straight races, and he has a top-10 finish in 13 of the 14 races that he’s completed.
5. Carlos Sainz, Jr. ($7,600) — His Ferrari teammate has been more consistent, but Sainz has the win (Singapore Grand Prix). If anyone can end Verstappen’s 2023 dominance at COTA, then it could be the driver that beat Max a month ago.
For F1 insight and quick DFS help, follow Pearce Dietrich (@race4theprize) on Twitter.
6. Fernando Alonso ($7,000) — The Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas has not been kind to Fernando Alonso. In nine races, he’s only earned one USA Grand Prix podium. He has not secured a top-10 finish at COTA since 2016, and his average finish is 11.1
7. Lando Norris ($9,800) — Oscar Piastri ($9,600) was the Captain’s Pick for the Qatar Grand Prix. Norris was the Captain’s Pick the round before in Japan. Norris has been an optimal fantasy F1 pick five times (fourth-most) and McLaren has been an optimal constructor at DraftKings three times (second-most).
8. Guanyu Zhou ($3,200) — The good drivers are expensive. In order to fit these F1 drivers into DFS lineups, value picks are necessary. Two cheapies in a lineup are becoming regular. Zhou has been an optimal pick in the last two GPs despite only earning a top-10 finish in one of those races (Qatar). Zhou has been an optimal DraftKings F1 pick in five races, but he only has three top-10 finishes this season.
9. Esteban Ocon ($4,800) — The Alpine driver has earned a top-10 finish in two straight races and four of the last six. He was an optimal DFS F1 pick for the Japanese Grand Prix and Qatar Grand Prix. In the 11 races that Ocon has finished, he’s earned a top-10 finish nine times with an average finish of 7.7 in those nine races.
10. Nico Hulkenberg ($3,400) — Which Haas driver will be the punt of the week? Kevin Magnussen ($3,600) was optimal in the last round in Qatar. Hulkenberg was optimal in three of the four races before that, and four of six. Both drivers have been optimal five times in 2023.
Set your DraftKings Fantasy F1 lineups here: F1 $40K 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.