Your weekly digest of racing news and fantasy strategy to keep your lineups in tip-top shape before each race.

TL;DR News

We’ve found the most important and least important news stories in motorsports, so you don’t have to. 😘

Formula 1

• The Dutch GP had more overtakes than any F1 race in history.

• Check out the Dutch GP results based on positions gained. 

• Hulkenberg thinks he is too tall for some F1 teams.

• Ricciardo is expected to miss 2 to 3 more races due to a hand injury.

• Hamilton’s contract renewal hits another roadblock.

• Max gets his Hungary trophy back after Lando broke it.

NASCAR

• Ryan Preece had the mother of all accidents at Daytona.

• The Playoffs are here—a quick reminder of how they work.

• Bubba narrowly makes the playoffs; Petty doesn’t like his style.

• Chicago residents are not excited about another street race.

Indycar

• Newgarden drops out of title contention after St. Louis.

• Here’s what Indycar’s new power unit sounds like.

Italian GP F1 Fantasy League Preview

Monza is around the corner. After a rollercoaster weekend at the Dutch GP, here are our thoughts on who you should keep an eye on at Monza!

Driver Salary Storylines:

Logan Sargeant has big upside, but can he capitalize? We learned a couple of things about Logan last weekend. In qualy, he showed us he’s fast and behind the wheel of a car that is very capable after becoming the first American top-10 qualifier in 30 years. He also showed us he has a lot to learn by immediately crashing in Q3 and then not finishing another race. If you take the risk on Sargeant, we recommend a 4 or 5-race contract to account for any further misses he may have along the way.

Sargeant’s 8-race finish position is currently all the way down to 17th, meaning he is well prepared to capture significant improvement points should he have a finish in 10th or higher.

Russell is at his lowest value of the season. After a string of two bad races, Russell is now $21.5M, down from a peak of $25.5M after SPA. George is currently ranked 8th in salary but is in 6th place for overall fantasy points for the season. A few good races from Russell will most certainly come with a healthy upside in salary and points.

Albon is probably reaching a peak. Albon has increased in value for the last 8 out of 10 races, going from a season-low of $4.6M to a very rare increase of $11M (!!!) all the way to his current value of $15.6M. Signing Albon to any longer-term contract, or maybe any contract at all might be risky. We’d go so far as to say if you’ve already captured significant value on an Albon contract ($5M+), you might even consider an early release.

Underpriced Watchlist:

• Sainz is still $4M off his season high of $26M. A $2M value increase would not be unreasonable, but we think it unlikely he will surpass his teammate currently at $24M.

• With nearly $6M of gap between Norris and Piastri. We still think Piastri has at least $3M of upside over the next 4 to 5 races.

• If HaaS can make a comeback with recent upgrades, Magnussen is likely underpriced after a drop from his peak of $14M to his current value of $6.4M in less than 10 races.

Overpriced Watchlist:

• Verstappen, Perez, Hamilton, and Alonso will certainly be great choices in terms of fantasy points potential. However, if value is of greater consideration for your team, consider that none of them have much upward salary potential compared to others on the grid at this point in the season.

Other Considerations:

• Monza has historically favored higher horsepower cars with top-line speed. Does RBR/Honda have what it takes here?

• This race has often delivered unexpected outcomes… McLaren 1-2 in 2021, wins for Toro Rosso/Alphatauri in 2008 (Vettel in the wet) and 2020 (Gasly with a series of chaotic events)

Gentle Reminders:

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!

Staff Picks

Ryne - Director of Business Operations 
“Starting with my talent driver, I think Piastri should be in everyone's lineup at the moment. In my mind, he's the best driver in the best car who is priced as eligible to be a talented driver.

I'm stuck with a Russell contract, but despite some poor strategy, he was running 7th before a late puncture sent him to the rear at Zandvoort. He will bounce back.

Like many, I am hoping for a final top 10 this weekend for Sergeant. Norris is in the same tier as Hamilton and Alonso in terms of reaching the podium, so I’m expecting good numbers from him as well.

There's not much to say about Carlos Sainz other than I had $22.6M in my bank, and his price is $22M. Trusting Ferrari, what could go wrong?

McLaren probably won't be able to recreate their 2021 magical 1-2 Monza finish, but I'm high on Piastri and Norris, so I'm high on McLaren.

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