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Justin Carter's DraftKings and FanDuel DFS lineup picks for the Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Read our daily fantasy F1 advice and sleepers analysis.
Formula 1 is in Brazil for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Just three races remain in this F1 season and while Max Verstappen has wrapped up the title, there's still second place to race for, as well as plenty of intrigue as teams look to build toward next season.
Last year, Mercedes put on a show here, with George Russell leading 66 laps to win the race while Lewis Hamilton finished second. It was the most recent victory for the Mercedes team, which has yet to top the podium in 2023.
Below you will find our Formula 1 DraftKings DFS lineup picks for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on 11/5/23, with the slate locking at 12:00 p.m. ET. If you have any questions or want to talk about Formula 1, you can find me on Twitter at @juscarts.
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How Does Formula 1 Fantasy Work?
Here's how the scoring and format work for F1 DFS on DraftKings. You'll pick five drivers and a constructor. One of those drivers will be your captain, who earns you 1.5 times the points but also costs 1.5 times as much as they usually cost. For the constructor, you're choosing one of the F1 teams.
So here's how the scoring works. Your driver only gets points if they finish in the top 10. Here's a chart for how that breaks down:
| Finishing Spot | DraftKings Points |
|---|---|
| 1 | 25 |
| 2 | 18 |
| 3 | 15 |
| 4 | 12 |
| 5 | 10 |
| 6 | 8 |
| 7 | 6 |
| 8 | 4 |
| 9 | 2 |
| 10 | 1 |
In addition, the driver with the fastest lap of the race gets three points. You get 0.1 points per lap led, five points for beating your teammate, one point for being classified at the finish (finished 90% of the race, essentially), and points for place differential.
Finish three spots higher than your grid position and you get two points. Finish five better and you get three points. Finish 10 better to get five points. You also lose points for a negative place differential, starting at three spots.
The constructor points work the same way, with some added points if both cars do well. It's confusing, but for Formula 1 DFS to work, it probably had to be confusing. Now that we've gone over that, let's talk drivers. Here's what I've put together as a kind of base lineup.
Captain: Charles Leclerc ($12,900)
Starts Second
Charles Leclerc has a front-row start for the third race in a row. Last week in Mexico City, he led 12 laps and ultimately finished third in the race. This week, he probably won't get an early lead because he starts beside Max Verstappen, but Leclerc has a good shot at getting a podium.
He's also only the sixth-most expensive captain play. It feels like the DraftKings salary here just hasn't really risen with his increased performance lately like you might think. Little bit of value because of that.
Constructor: Aston Martin ($4,600)
Early in the season, Aston Martin looked like the second-best constructor behind Red Bull, but there was a ton of fall off over the last few months. Now, Aston Martin costs $4,600. Above it in pricing is Ferrari at $8,800. Right below is Alpine at $3,600. I think that makes this slide pretty obvious.
But Aston Martin appeared to have found something this weekend, as the team has a second-row lockout with its two drivers. Lance Stroll starts in P3 for this race. The last time he even made it out of the first round of qualifying was on Aug. 27. The last time he made the final round of qualifying was July 30.
I don't necessarily trust Stroll, but this is the best shot Aston Martin's had in a while to get double points.
Max Verstappen ($16,400)
Starts First
Do I really need to write about Max Verstappen here? He's already broken his own record for wins in a season. He's won every single race this season that he's started on the pole for. He won the Sprint on Saturday. He's almost certain to earn more DFS points than anyone else on Sunday. I get the price is high, but that's why I'm using him as a normal play, not a Captain.
Fernando Alonso ($6,400)
Starts Fourth
Fernando Alonso sits one spot behind teammate Lance Stroll on the grid, but that doesn't worry me. Alonso had issues in the past two races, but before that defeated Stroll in 10 consecutive races. Aston Martin's found some speed this weekend and Alonso has a shot to challenge for a top-five finish, which would be his first since he was the runner-up in the Dutch Grand Prix back in August.
Alexander Albon ($6,000)
Starts 13th
Alexander Albon is always a safe source of the "defeated teammate" points, as he's now earned them in 16 consecutive races. Logan Sargeant just ain't it, it seems. Albon's done a good job getting as much as possible out of this Williams car, including finishing ninth in the past two races. He had 11 fantasy points in both of those races because he beat Sargeant and he had positive place differential. Both of those things are easily possible on Sunday.
Nico Hulkenberg ($3,600)
Starts 11th
Nice little bit of speed from Haas in qualifying, as Nico Hulkenberg starts 11th and Kevin Magnussen starts 12th. I'm worried that the speed didn't carry over to the Sprint race on Saturday, but I still think there's some value with Hulkenberg, if for no other reason than the fact that he's finished ahead of Magnussen in three of the past four races.
While he hasn't finished in the points since Australia back in April, he's come close lately, finishing 11th at the US Grand Prix and 13th in Mexico last weekend.
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