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Justin Carter's DraftKings DFS lineup picks for the 2025 Formula 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Read our daily fantasy F1 advice and sleepers analysis.
Formula 1 returns to Europe this weekend for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, a race at the Imola Circuit. First held in 2020 after the COVID pandemic led to shifts in the schedule, Max Verstappen has won three of the four races here, with Lewis Hamilton taking the other win.
Last race in Miami, Oscar Piastri took home the win, giving him four wins in the first six races of the season. Piastri and McLaren teammate Lando Norris have both run strong, with McLaren already driving away with the constructor title.
Below, you will find our Formula 1 DraftKings DFS lineup picks for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on 5/18/25, with the slate locking at 9:00 a.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. ($8.1K)
Starts Sixth
It took a little bit for Carlos Sainz Jr. to get things figured out for Williams, but he's now finished in the points in two consecutive races. If you take away his two crashes, he's been in the points 75 percent of the time when he actually finished the race.
We all thought Hamilton's move to Mercedes was the greatest driver move of all-time
Turns out it was Carlos Sainz to Williams
— Tom Bellingham (@TomP1Bellingham) May 17, 2025
Yes, Alexander Albon has been better, but Sainz looks quicker this weekend in Italy. He was faster than Albon in all three qualifying sessions.
But it wasn't just qualifying where Sainz was fast. In FP1, he was the fastest non-McLaren driver. In FP2, Albon bested him, but the two were ninth and 10th-fastest, so it was close. In FP3, Sainz was back to being the fastest Williams, going sixth-best overall.
Constructor: Williams ($4.0K)
Williams as a whole has been very strong lately, scoring double points in two consecutive races. As mentioned above, Carlos Sainz Jr. has been fast all weekend, but Alexander Albon hasn't been far behind.
Albon was eighth-fastest in FP1, ninth in FP2, and ninth again in FP3 before qualifying seventh. He hasn't had the highs of his teammate this weekend, but he's been consistently quick.
Outside of McLaren and maybe Mercedes, Williams is the team I feel best about this weekend as far as earning double points goes. Both cars start in the top 10 and have shown clear top 10 pace recently.
Oscar Piastri ($13.4K)
Starts First
Entering the year, everyone thought Lando Norris was the top McLaren driver, but now Oscar Piastri has won four of the season's first six races and currently leads the championship battle.
Piastri comes into this race on a three-race win streak. Maybe more importantly, though, is that Piastri has won both times he's been on the pole in dominant fashion. At the Chinese Grand Prix, he led 53 of the 56 laps. In Bahrain, he led 54 of the 57 laps.
OSCAR PIASTRI TAKES POLE AT IMOLA!!! 💪#F1 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/07Ky3w7FJb
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 17, 2025
This McLaren car is just so good when it has clean air out front, which is what the case will be again on Sunday. The safest bet here is that Piastri will run away with this thing, only briefly losing the lead during pit sequences but reclaiming it by the time the stops are done.
Max Verstappen ($11.6K)
Starts Second
Max Verstappen's Red Bull team has lost a tiny step, but that's mostly good news for DFS managers. His price has dropped from where it was last year, but he's still capable of reeling off podium finishes and he's a virtual lock to beat teammate Yuki Tsunoda unless Verstappen runs into an issue.
That's especially true on Sunday, as Tsunoda was unable to run a full lap in qualifying, which means he'll bring up the rear on Sunday. He won't stay that far back, but it's going to be virtually impossible for him to compete with Verstappen.
Also of note here: Verstappen has won this race three times in a row. I still think Piastri is the top bet to come away with the victory, but Verstappen's experience in this race can't be ignored.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli ($8.2K)
Starts 13th
I'm not usually one to target place differential points in Formula 1 DFS — they just aren't as impactful or easy to predict as they are in NASCAR — but this week is an exception, as a number of good cars start outside the top 10. We have the two Ferraris starting 11th and 12th, then the Mercedes of Andrea Kimi Antonelli in 13th.
The big question for Antonelli will be how fast he gets past the Ferrari duo. These Mercedes cars have been consistently quicker than the Ferraris in 2025, so it should happen, but how quickly it happens will determine how much ground he can make up on the rest of the field.
One thing that really helps this week? Aston Martin's stunning qualifying run that placed both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll in the top 10 starting spots.
That team has been slow for most of the season and one qualifying session doesn't change my opinion on that. The way I see things, the Ferraris and Antonelli should all get past Stroll at the very least, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see Alonso drop as the race goes on as well.
Isack Hadjar ($4.6K)
Starts Ninth
No rookie has been more impressive than Isack Hadjar. Sure, he's not the top rookie in points, but considering how low expectations were for the Racing Bulls driver, his 2025 performance has been exceptional.
ive said it before and ill say it again
ISACK HADJAR ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
— goatnoda (@goatnoda) May 17, 2025
Because yes, Hadjar has only earned points twice, but he came up just short two other times, finishing 11th in China and Miami. His only really bad race was the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, where he crashed on the formation lap and finished last.
And since the Japanese Grand Prix when Red Bull demoted Liam Lawson to the second Racing Bulls seat, Hadjar is 4-for-4 when it comes to finishing as his team's top driver. Those five DFS points that fantasy players get for that can be huge, boosting Hadjar's fantasy floor.
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: Esteban Ocon
- 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 positions 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.
