Japanese GP Fantasy League Preview

After a wild and unpredictable race in Singapore, the market for underpriced drivers is quite attractive.

Driver Salary Storylines:

Max and Sergio are must-buys! If you believe, like most of the analysts, that Red Bull’s performance last week was a fluke, then picking up Max, if you don’t already have him and have an open spot, is a must. His $2M drop in value is the largest we’ve seen for Max all season and is almost guaranteed to rise back to his $30M high.

Sergio is also a potential discount, although not quite as much as Max. At $26.3M, he is only $300k higher than his lowest salary of the season ($26M.)

George Russell is a bet worth making. George is fast but has been a victim of bad luck many times over. It’s difficult to comment on how much of an improvement in salary we might see before the end of the season, but at $20.6M, he’s most certainly undervalued.

Stroll and Ocon have been on long descents—is now the time to buy? Perhaps… When comparing both of these drivers to their teammates, we see similar trends. If Stroll can regain his composure, the gap between him and Alonso tells us he’s certainly behind the wheel of a vehicle that will enable him to rise up and capture value and the points along with it. On the flip side, Ocon and Gasly have been almost neck-and-neck during the 2023 season, Singapore being their largest deviation yet due to Ocon’s DNF. This means that although Stroll may have more potential upside, Ocon is likely a quicker bet to improve in value.

Underpriced Watchlist:

• Alonso is coming off of two races in a row that resulted in the largest salary decrease per race possible ($2M.)

• It’s increasingly difficult to speculate on Logan Sergeant due to his inconsistency. However, the gap between him and his teammate is now one of the largest we’ve ever seen at 10th (Albon) and 20th (Sargeant) and $16.8M and $6.8M, respectively. Much like Stroll, Sargeant is in a machine capable of much more. You’ll have to decide if you want to take the gamble.

Overpriced Watchlist:

• Albon is the only driver we can slot into this category, but certainly not firmly. He is likely capped out and doesn’t have much room to go upwards, meaning one DNF or a bad week is going to result in a large drop in price.

Gentle Reminder:

Don’t wait until Saturday to fill out your lineup. Get it done early. You can change it as much as you want until qualifying starts!

Hidden Gems

Did you know you can see the status of any active or complete contract by going to the “history” screen in your league? This view will show you the profit on any open or completed contract and breakdowns of each race the contract was utilized for. If the contract is still active, you can also see upcoming races.

Give it a try!