Race our writers! Motorsport.com launches its first-ever league on F1 Fantasy

For seasoned fans and newcomers alike, F1 Fantasy adds another exciting element to race weekends as players are tasked with selecting the best five drivers and two teams within the budget available. And the tactics do not stop there, however; will you decide to make transfers before each race? Which driver will get your ‘DRS Boost’ and score double that weekend? How will you deploy the chips available to build up an even bigger total?

As part of Motorsport having its own league, we will preview every round with hints, tips and writers’ selections and then, after a race weekend, look at the updated standings and who had a great grand prix.

With the Australian Grand Prix this weekend, we asked a number of our writers to tell us who they have picked to start their season:

Erwin Jaeggi, F1 journalist, ‘The Jaeggimeisters’: “I chose Max Verstappen as my lead driver because I still see him as the favourite for the world title, even though he himself suggests otherwise.

“Buying the second-most expensive driver in the game has significant consequences for the rest of my lineup. However, with Max in my team, there’s a strong chance I’ll score big points on a regular basis.

“I’m hoping Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso can pick up points from time to time, while Gabriel Bortoleto and Oliver Bearman round out my roster – if one of them underperforms, I can always make adjustments, much like Alpine keeping their options open!”

Stuart Codling, senior writer, ‘Team Moribund F1’: “If my team looks like a scruffy mess of compromises, that’s probably because it is. For the constructors I chose Ferrari because it has two of the best qualifiers in the business (with the caveat that Lewis Hamilton hasn’t been great in the ground-effect era) and Alpine because I needed a cheaper outfit with a reasonable chance of scoring points.

“The danger in a format like this is that you can get sucked into putting all your budget into one ‘star’ driver and end up relying on them to do the heavy lifting. Lance Stroll, historically, isn’t great at qualifying but often picks up quite a few places in the race. That made him seem a better bet for points than some of the other drivers who are in the same ballpark cost-wise.”

Mark Mann-Bryans, F1 business correspondent, ‘MMB Racing’: “Lando Norris might be the most expensive driver in the game but it feels like he is up there for a reason – the Erling Haaland or Mohamed Salah of F1 Fantasy – so I stuck him in as my number one driver.

“I’ve taken a bit of a punt on Liam Lawson but had enough money left over to bring him in so hopefully he can hit the ground running for Red Bull.

“My only concern is backing both Williams and Sainz, if that pre-season testing pace proves to be a one-off, I might struggle to pull in a lot of points in the opening rounds.”

There will be plenty more from our writers as the season progresses and their respective teams no doubt flounder in the midfield.

So, If you think Norris will notch you enough points or selecting Red Bull will see you wing your way to victory, create your team and join the Motorsport: Race our Writers league to show you can take the top step in 2025.