X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

2025 Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka - F1 Fantasy Race Preview, Strategy and Analysis

Oscar Piastri - Formula One, F1 DFS Lineup Picks

Euan Leith's preview of the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix for F1 Fantasy includes weather updates, differentials for your squads, and predictions for qualifying and the Grand Prix.

Happy Japanese Grand Prix, RotoBallers! We've had our first break of the season, and now it's time for the first triple-header of the 2025 F1 Fantasy season. Over the next three weeks, there will be races in Japan, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.

The Chinese Grand Prix was a pretty tame affair until Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, and Lewis Hamilton were disqualified for different infractions after the race. I feel bad for F1 Fantasy managers who used their Limitless chips and had Leclerc, Hamilton, and Ferrari as a constructor in their lineup.

The deadline for the Japanese Grand Prix in F1 Fantasy is Saturday, April 5, at 2:00 a.m. EDT, when Qualifying starts. Also, check out the rest of our excellent DFS racing coverage to get you through every NASCAR and Formula 1 race. Also, if you need a refresher on the rules of F1 Fantasy, check out our How to Play guide from the preseason.

Want to build a winning fantasy F1 lineup? Check out our How To Play F1 Fantasy (Formula 1): Overview Guide, Tips, Chips, and Rules for all the essential tips and strategies to get you started on the right foot.

Join our 2025 F1 Fantasy League

That's right! We are putting our reputations on the line and creating an F1 Fantasy League for the 2025 season. If you go to the Leagues tab on the F1 Fantasy home page, you'll find our league in the Featured Leagues tab. Just click Join League, and you will be in for 2025.

We've also got this shiny banner to stand out! Use code P1JOTPHDW09 to join the 2025 league!

 

Previous Japanese Grand Prix Winners

  • 2024: Max Verstappen, Red Bull
  • 2023: Max Verstappen, Red Bull
  • 2022: Max Verstappen, Red Bull
  • 2019: Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
  • 2018: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

*The 2020 and 2021 Japanese Grand Prix were not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Japanese Grand Prix Schedule

Thursday, April 3rd

  • Practice 1: 10:30 p.m. EDT

Friday, April 4th

  • Practice 2: 2:00 a.m. EDT
  • Practice 3: 10:30 p.m. EDT

Saturday, April 5th

  • Qualifying: 2:00 a.m. EDT (***F1 Fantasy lineup lock***)

Sunday, April 6th

  • Race: 1:00 a.m. EDT

 

Japanese Grand Prix Weather

Australia gave us a downpour, China threatened some showers, and now it's looking like another weather-y weekend in F1 Fantasy. As of this writing, F1 Fantasy managers should prepare for some wet-weather chaos.

Day Temperature Precipitation Forecast
Friday 14°C / 57°F 0% Clear
Saturday 16°C / 61°F 40% Cloudy
Sunday 19°C / 66°F 60% Rain Showers

 

Japanese Grand Prix Predictions

Qualifying

  1. George Russell, Mercedes
  2. Lando Norris, McLaren
  3. Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Grand Prix

  1. Lando Norris, McLaren
  2. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
  3. George Russell, Mercedes

 

F1 Fantasy Driver Swap: Yuki Tsunoda-Liam Lawson

During the break, Red Bull decided to swap Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson. The Japanese driver will now be on the senior team (Red Bull), and Lawson will move to the junior team (Racing Bulls). It's a shocking move two races into the season, but F1 Fantasy managers must adjust.

The game has deactivated the Racing Bulls version of Tsunoda and the Red Bull version of Lawson. If you keep those assets in your squad, you will receive negative 25 points across the weekend for inactive driver penalties. Unfortunately, this will cost a transfer and change the strategies for some F1 Fantasy teams.

I am in a wait-and-see mode with both drivers regarding the Japanese Grand Prix. Unless one looks outstanding in the practice sessions, I will stay away from Tsunoda and Lawson until Bahrain.

 

F1 Fantasy Pricing Algorithm Changes

I got caught out at the Chinese Grand Prix after it was revealed that the pricing algorithm had changed for the season's second race. Fortunately, the excellent folks at F1 Fantasy Tools quickly figured out what happened and cracked the code for us.

As you can see from the table, the thresholds for each price rise category have changed from race to race. The prevailing theory in the F1 Fantasy community is that the Japanese Grand Prix pricing algorithm will remain the same for the rest of the season.

However, that is always subject to change, but this weekend, I will work off the theory that the above thresholds are correct.

 

F1 Fantasy Chip Strategy

For the Japanese Grand Prix, there's no urgent need to activate a chip. However, playing the No Negative chip isn't a bad idea if the weather looks worse throughout the weekend. This will prevent you from scoring negative points in any scoring session at Suzuka.

Also, if your team is in a state, using the Wildcard to sort it all out is another option. Here is a Wildcard draft for the upcoming weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix, which costs $98.7m in cost cap.

 

F1 Fantasy Drivers to Target and Avoid

Drivers to Target (A Tier, >$19.0m)

  • Lando Norris, McLaren
  • Oscar Piastri, McLaren
  • George Russell, Mercedes
  • Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Drivers to Avoid (A Tier, >$19.0m)

  • Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
  • Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Drivers to Target (B Tier, <$19.0m)

  • Alexander Albon, Williams
  • Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
  • Esteban Ocon, Haas
  • Nico Hulkenberg, Kick Sauber
  • Ollie Bearman, Haas

Drivers to Avoid (B Tier, <$19.0m)

  • Carlos Sainz, Williams
  • Pierre Gasly, Alpine
  • Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
  • Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls
  • Gabriel Bortoleto, Kick Sauber

More Fantasy Racing Analysis

POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Corey Seager2 hours ago

Leaves Early On Tuesday With Hamstring Tightness
George Klassen3 hours ago

Strikes Out Nine In Latest Double-A Start
Michael Pittman Jr.3 hours ago

Back Injury Is In The Past
Marcelo Mayer3 hours ago

With Fourth Straight Multi-Hit Effort On Tuesday
Bailey Falter3 hours ago

Leaves Outing On Tuesday With Back Tightness
George Pickens3 hours ago

Steelers Appear Unlikely To Trade George Pickens
Jaylen Warren3 hours ago

Steelers Believe Jaylen Warren Can Be Their RB1
Leodalis De Vries3 hours ago

Hits For Cycle, Collects Eight RBI On Tuesday
Jeferson Quero4 hours ago

To Resume Baseball Activities
Andrew Novak4 hours ago

Making Start At TPC Louisiana After Near Miss At Harbour Town
Roman Anthony4 hours ago

Dealing With Shoulder Soreness
Ben Griffin5 hours ago

Making Third Career Start At Zurich Classic
Nick Pivetta5 hours ago

Throws Seven Scoreless Innings
Brandon Marsh5 hours ago

Nearing Rehab Assignment
Mitchell Parker6 hours ago

Tosses Eight Shutout Innings
Javier Assad6 hours ago

Exits Rehab Start With Injury
Pablo López6 hours ago

Pablo Lopez Nearing Return
Cristopher Sánchez6 hours ago

Cristopher Sanchez Exits With Forearm Soreness
Jaylen Warren7 hours ago

Signs One-Year Deal With Steelers
Luis Rengifo7 hours ago

Out After Having Root Canal
Tyler Matzek7 hours ago

Joins Big-League Roster
Chandler Simpson7 hours ago

Back In Leadoff Spot On Tuesday
Wade Miley8 hours ago

Starting His Rehab Assignment On Tuesday
Sam Moll8 hours ago

Starting Rehab Assignment On Tuesday
Tyler Stephenson8 hours ago

Starting Rehab Assignment On Tuesday
Marcus Semien8 hours ago

Dropped To Five-Hole On Tuesday
Cody Poteet8 hours ago

Placed On 15-Day Injured List With Shoulder Inflammation
Will Levis8 hours ago

Unlikely To Be Traded
Houston Texans8 hours ago

Texans Considering Trading Up
Cleveland Browns8 hours ago

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah Appears At Offseason Program
Thomas Detry8 hours ago

Making Third Appearance At New Orleans Team Event
Christian McCaffrey9 hours ago

Has No Restrictions
Terry Rozier9 hours ago

Ruled Out For Wednesday
Damian Lillard9 hours ago

Will Have His Minutes Monitored Tuesday
Jayson Tatum9 hours ago

Listed As Doubtful For Game 2
Robert MacIntyre9 hours ago

Returns To Zurich Classic With High Hopes
Derek Forbort9 hours ago

Recovering From Surgery
Martin Fehérváry9 hours ago

Martin Fehervary To Miss Postseason Following Knee Surgery
Shane Lowry9 hours ago

Returning To Zurich Classic With Red-Hot Teammate
Luke Glendening9 hours ago

Available For Start Of Playoffs
Mitchell Chaffee9 hours ago

Available Tuesday
Cody Glass10 hours ago

Good To Go Tuesday
Brenden Dillon10 hours ago

Won't Play In Game 2
Luke Hughes10 hours ago

Out On Tuesday
Matthew Tkachuk10 hours ago

Activated From Injured Reserve
Damian Lillard11 hours ago

Cleared To Play Tuesday
Brock Purdy12 hours ago

Reports For OTA's Amid Contract Discussions
George Kittle12 hours ago

Skips Start Of 49ers Offseason Program
Dallas Cowboys12 hours ago

Stephon Gilmore Spotted At Cowboys Facility On Tuesday
James Cook12 hours ago

Not At Start Of Voluntary OTAs
Kirk Cousins12 hours ago

Reports To Voluntary OTA's
Cam Ward12 hours ago

Titans Officially Staying Put At No. 1 Overall Pick, Expected To Select Cam Ward
13 hours ago

Ashton Jeanty's Tackle-Breaking Ability Sets Him Apart
13 hours ago

Jalen Milroe Not A Lock To Go In First Round
Denver Broncos14 hours ago

Broncos Willing To Trade Up In This Week's Draft
Indianapolis Colts14 hours ago

Colts Searching For A Tight End That Can Do It All
Daniel Jones14 hours ago

Colts Expect Both Anthony Richardson, Daniel Jones To Help Them In 2025
14 hours ago

Giants High On Jaxson Dart
Rory McIlroy14 hours ago

Making Second Appearance At Zurich Classic
14 hours ago

Saints Not Expected To Take Shedeur Sanders
Nikola Jokić17 hours ago

Nikola Jokic Posts 19th Postseason Triple-Double
Kawhi Leonard17 hours ago

Leads Clippers To Game 2 Victory
Jalen Brunson17 hours ago

Leads All Scorers With 37 Points In Monday's Loss
Tobias Harris17 hours ago

Notches Double-Double In Game 2 Win
Cade Cunningham18 hours ago

Leads Pistons To Victory With 33 Points
Rob Dillingham18 hours ago

Out On Tuesday
Maxi Kleber18 hours ago

Remains Out For Game 2
GG Jackson II18 hours ago

Available For Tuesday
Evan Bouchard18 hours ago

Dishes Out Three Assists In Postseason Opener
Connor McDavid18 hours ago

Racks Up Four Points In Losing Effort
Nick Taylor18 hours ago

Can Surprise Again In The Big Easy
Phillip Danault18 hours ago

Nets Two Goals In Game 1 Victory
Adam Hadwin18 hours ago

Expects To Contend At Zurich Classic
Mark Scheifele18 hours ago

Bags Two Points In Monday's Win
Alejandro Tosti18 hours ago

Could Get Hot Again In New Orleans
Lane Hutson19 hours ago

Posts Two Assists In Playoff Debut
Joe Highsmith19 hours ago

Struggling As New Orleans Approaches
Dylan Strome19 hours ago

Registers Three Assists In Overtime Win
Karl Vilips19 hours ago

Steps Up To Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
Alex Ovechkin19 hours ago

Scores First Playoff Overtime Goal
Michael Thorbjornsen19 hours ago

Ready To Make Waves In New Orleans
Braden Schneider19 hours ago

Undergoes Shoulder Surgery
Tom Hoge19 hours ago

Ready To Make Some Birdies In New Orleans
Billy Horschel19 hours ago

Has Game To Win Third Zurich Classic
Aaron Gordon1 day ago

Cleared For Action
Ousmane Dieng1 day ago

Still Out On Tuesday
Kevin Love1 day ago

Remains Away From Team
Terry Rozier1 day ago

Hurts Ankle Monday
Damian Lillard1 day ago

Officially Listed As Questionable For Game 2
Isaiah Stewart1 day ago

Ruled Out For Game 2 Against Knicks
Trent Frederic1 day ago

A Game-Time Call Monday
Leon Draisaitl1 day ago

Returns To Oilers Lineup For Postseason Opener
Jake Walman1 day ago

Available For Game 1
Brett Kulak1 day ago

Ready To Play Monday
Aliaksei Protas1 day ago

Expected To Return During First-Round Series
Isaiah Stewart2 days ago

Iffy For Monday Night
Aaron Gordon2 days ago

Listed As Probable For Game 2
Jaylen Brown3 days ago

Not Expected To Be Limited On Sunday
Ryan Blaney6 days ago

Bold Strategies Fall Flat, Still Musters A Top-Five Finish At Bristol
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF