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Justin Carter's DraftKings DFS lineup picks for the 2025 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Read our daily fantasy F1 advice and sleepers analysis.
Formula 1 heads to Saudi Arabia this weekend for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the fifth race of the season. We have a bit of a strange grid this weekend because Lando Norris crashed out in Q3, which means the points leader starts 10th in what should be a car with race-winning speed. Will he be able to get there, though?
Last race in Bahrain, it was McLaren's Oscar Piastri who won from the pole, the second time this season Piastri started and finished first. He's starting second this week, beside defending champion Max Verstappen.
Below, you will find our Formula 1 DraftKings DFS lineup picks for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on 4/20/25, with the slate locking at 1:00 p.m. EDT. If you have any questions or want to talk about Formula 1, you can find me on X at @juscarts or on Bluesky.
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Captain: Carlos Sainz Jr. ($6.6K)
Starts Sixth
There's an old saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, so if you want to call me insane for going with Carlos Sainz Jr. for a second week in a row, then go ahead.
Last week, Sainz's strong qualifying run gave me hope. Instead, he finished 19th, providing DFS players with negative points.
Carlos Sainz has outqualified his Ferrari replacement, Lewis Hamilton, in consecutive weekends. pic.twitter.com/Y1mMjYGXha
— formularacers (@formularacers_) April 19, 2025
But the past is the past. The only thing about last week's bad showing that matters to us this week is that you can now captain Sainz for $600 less this week, making it a good chance to try it again.
Sainz has been quick all weekend, which helps me feel better about this play. He was seventh in FP1, fifth in FP2, and seventh again in FP3. It's been a rough season so far for Sainz as he's scored just one point, but his recent speed suggests he's going to get back on track.
Constructor: Mercedes ($10.5K)
We have two Mercedes drivers starting in the top five this weekend, making Mercedes my pick to be the constructor with the best shot at a double podium.
It's not a guarantee or anything, but with Norris starting 10th, it's going to be tough for McLaren to get there. Last year, the highest finishing driver to start in double digits was Ollie Bearman, who started 11th and finished seventh.
In fact, in four races here, the only driver to start 10th or worse and make the podium was Max Verstappen in 2023, and that was when Red Bull was still the unquestioned best team. McLaren is the best team right now but not by that wide of a margin.
Meanwhile, the second Red Bull starts eighth and the second Ferrari starts seventh. It's unlikely those teams land two podium spots. All Mercedes needs to do is have Kimi Antonelli get past Charles Leclerc and then have either Verstappen or Piastri have an issue. That's not impossible at all.
Oscar Piastri ($12.4K)
Starts Second
Oscar Piastri has a great shot to take the points lead away from teammate Lando Norris this weekend as Piastri fires off second on Sunday.
Piastri's already won twice this season, though grabbing a third win would be tough since he'll have to outduel Verstappen to make it happen.
Still, Piastri just needs to run a clean race and he'll finish second or better. It's not realistic that Norris will catch up from his 10th starting position without Piastri suffering some kind of issue, so you have a great shot of earning the "defeated teammate" points.
Max Verstappen ($11.6K)
Starts First
Red Bull is clearly playing second fiddle to McLaren as far as speed goes, and you could easily argue that Mercedes is faster as well. None of that necessarily matters, though, when your lead driver is Max Verstappen.
MAX VERSTAPPEN IS ON POLE!! 💨💨
What an incredible lap from the Red Bull driver! 👏#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/NbaPkd2vCb
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 19, 2025
Despite the speed difference, the defending champion has a win and two podiums and sits third in points. He's in a position where he can leave Jeddah with the points lead.
The fact that Verstappen is the only multi-time winner at this track also strengthens the argument for playing him in DFS this weekend. Last year, he led 45 laps from the pole to win his second Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Fernando Alonso ($5.0K)
Starts 13th
This has been just an absolute nightmare of a year for Fernando Alonso, one of just four drivers in Formula 1 to not score a point yet.
The good thing about that is that Alonso's price is dropping in conjunction with that poor start. The other good thing is that his teammate is still Lance Stroll. Sure, the two are 2-2 against each other this year, but Alonso is still the far superior driver and the most likely of the two each week to earn the "defeated teammate" points.
Ollie Bearman ($3.8K)
Starts 15th
Building a lineup with both Piastri and Verstappen means you have to go cheap somewhere, so we're doing that with Ollie Bearman this weekend.
Bearman made his F1 debut here a year ago, starting 11th while running in place of Carlos Sainz. He ended up finishing seventh, a very solid showing in his F1 debut.
Esteban Ocon had never been outqualified at the Saudi Arabian GP by a team-mate... until Ollie Bearman in 2025 pic.twitter.com/jSjPYjBKCU
— The Race (@wearetherace) April 19, 2025
While he's played clear second fiddle to Esteban Ocon this season, Bearman's track history at Jeddah and the fact that he starts four spots ahead of Ocon on Saturday give him upside this weekend.
Defeated Teammate Picks
Here are the picks for who will come out on top for each constructor.
- McLaren: Oscar Piastri
- Mercedes: George Russell
- Red Bull: Max Verstappen
- Ferrari: Charles Leclerc
- Racing Bulls: Isack Hadjar
- Williams: Carlos Sainz Jr.
- Haas: Ollie Bearman
- Sauber: Gabriel Bortoleto
- Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso
- Alpine: Pierre Gasly
Last race's record: 8-2
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, and there are points for place differential.
Finish three spots higher than your grid position, and you will 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, considering the huge gaps in speed between various teams and the small driver pool.
