Mexico GP Fantasy League Preview & Strategy

The Mexico GP is here! Below are thoughts from the GridRival team on how to set yourself up for Fantasy F1 success this weekend!

Driver Salary Storylines:

Fernando Alonso - Aston Martin is not the force they were at the start of the season, but that has not stopped Alonso from putting up big performances. He had recovered from a pitlane start-up to P10 before being forced to retire due to a suspension issue.

Alonso has not seen his value dip this low since Bahrain. It’s been a fantastic year for the veteran driver, who has shown he still has the talent to race with the best of them when he has a capable car. Don’t let the final fantasy point result fool you. Alonso is a great play this week if you are trying to get some extra last-minute cash in your driver budget.

Oscar Piastri - Piastri was featured here last week, and he had a miserable weekend in Austin. While not part of our current scoring system, he qualified in 5th for the Sprint and finished P10. For the race, he qualified tenth and had a beautiful start that saw him gain several spots. Unfortunately, his success was short-lived; a collision with Esteban Ocon caused him to retire shortly after, finishing P17 after the disqualifications of Hamilton and Leclerc.

His salary fell the $2 million maximum a driver can lose in one race. Despite his salary chart trending up and to the right, even with this recent dip, he’s still underpriced, considering his recent performances. McLaren may never reach Red Bull’s level this season, but they don’t have to for Piastri to be a value. A driver in arguably the second-best car priced at the ninth-highest salary is a steal at $19.5M.

Lewis Hamilton - There are just some values that are too good to ignore. Much like Alsono, Hamilton has not had his value dip below $23M since, well, Bahrain. He’s priced below George Russell for the first time since Saudi Arabia. Had Hamilton not been disqualified, we would be talking about him in a very different light.

Mercedes brought upgrades to the US GP, giving Hamilton a new confidence in the car that he feels he can “throw it into the corners.” With Mexico and the Las Vegas street circuits still to come, that could prove crucial in improving qualifying time, where overtaking may prove problematic in the race.

Underpriced Watchlist:

• The US GP was a race filled with disqualifications and retirements, and Esteban Ocon was the first domino to fall. He retired soon after colliding with Piastri, but it’s important to note he had overtaken Gasly before the incident. At $13.7M, Ocon is a good bet to return on the investment. Plus, Alpine has a propensity to flip-flop, which driver has a good week, and it’s Ocon’s turn.

• If you’re looking for an upside at a low cost, Yuki Tsunoda is the driver to watch. Alpha Tauri was in the midfield mix in Austin, and an eighth-place finish was a season-best for him. After a brutal mid-season slump, Tsunoda has scored an average of 125 points in the last three races.

• Is Lance Stroll back? The three-race stretch of Italy, Singapore, and Japan was brutal, but he has improved in the past two races. With the new Aston Martin upgrade package in tow, Stroll could be a sneaky value this week if he can keep up this run of form.

Hidden Gems

Did you know you can open the driver and team data panel at any time by tapping the “charts” icon in the top right corner? Give it a try!