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Justin Carter's DraftKings DFS lineup picks for the 2025 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix. Read our daily fantasy F1 advice and sleepers analysis.
Formula 1 heads to the Hungaroring on Sunday for the Hungarian Grand Prix. On Saturday, Charles Leclerc scored a surprising pole, going quicker than both McLaren cars to take the top spot on the grid.
Last race in Belgium, the McLarens put on a masterclass, with Oscar Piastri winning and Lando Norris coming in second. It marked the third race in a row that the McLarens finished first and second.
Below, you will find our Formula 1 DraftKings DFS lineup picks for the Hungarian Grand Prix on 8/3/25, 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: Charles Leclerc ($15.3K)
Starts First
Do I think Charles Leclerc parlays his pole position into a victory on Sunday? Probably not. The McLarens were top two in all three practice sessions as well as the first two rounds of qualifying, so Leclerc claiming the pole in Q3 was probably a bit fluky.
The starting grid for Sunday's race 👀
Don't miss this one! #F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/NCLlzro8Gc
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 2, 2025
Still, I feel really good about Leclerc's chances of getting a podium finish on Sunday. He's clearly been the third-best driver all weekend, finishing third in all three practices, so while he might drop a couple of spots, I see third as his floor, barring any issues with the car during the race or bad pit strategy calls.
It also helps that teammate Lewis Hamilton starts all the way back in 13th, making Leclerc a virtual lock for the defeated teammate points.
By using Leclerc as the captain pick instead of one of the McLarens, you save enough money to afford an extra big-ticket driver in your lineup, which is a nice plus.
Constructor: Aston Martin ($3.0K)
Going value at the constructor spot hasn't been a great move this year, but this might be the week where it pays off because Aston Martin seemed to find some speed this weekend.
After a really uneven season, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll both made it to the final round of qualifying on Saturday and will start Sunday's race fifth and sixth.
And it's not like that speed was a fluke. Stroll was 10th in FP1 while Alonso sat the session out, but in FP2 the duo went fourth and fifth quickest. On Saturday, they maintained that speed in FP3 by going sixth and seventh fastest.
At just $3.0K, you have a solid shot here to get double points from the constructor position at a huge value, allowing you to use those savings elsewhere in your lineup.
Oscar Piastri ($13.4K)
Starts Second
As always, you probably can't go wrong with either McLaren, but Oscar Piastri starts ahead of teammate Lando Norris and is coming off a win last weekend in Belgium, so I'm leaning his direction if I'm forced to pick one of the two.
Oscar Piastri's rise since winning in Hungary last year 🤯📈#SSMotorsport | #F1 pic.twitter.com/5lRukWAIeg
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) July 31, 2025
Norris was faster in FP1 and FP2 on Friday before Piastri found a little more speed on Saturday, so this race really could go either way, and the fact that both have to figure out a way past Leclerc will add to the difficulty.
But Piastri only has to pass one car to win this race. Norris has to get past two of them. With Piastri on the first row, his journey to the lead could be very quick, but that isn't the case for Norris.
George Russell ($10.0K)
Starts Fourth
Terrible qualifying run for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who starts Sunday's race in 15th place, which sets George Russell up to sail through this one as the top Mercedes on the grid.
It's hard to see Russell moving up beyond fourth place unless things get really chaotic, but it's also hard to see him losing ground. He starts right in front of the two Aston Martin cars, and while both showed very good speed all weekend, passing a driver as good as Russell during the race itself is a tall task.
Carlos Sainz Jr. ($4.8K)
Starts 13th
Carlos Sainz Jr. wasn't super fast on Saturday as he qualified just 13th, but teammate Alexander Albon will start the race in last place, giving Sainz a huge jump in the race to be the top Williams car and earn five additional fantasy points.
That's...really the only reason to recommend Sainz here, as he's finished out of the points in three straight races. He's simply a cheap source of five points who probably won't wind up losing you place differential from his 13th-place starting spot.
Gabriel Bortoleto ($3.4K)
Starts Seventh
While rookie Gabriel Bortoleto is just 19th in the point standings, he's recently found some speed, finishing in the points in two of the past three races. Now, he starts a season-best seventh on Sunday.
Leclerc with a magical Pole lap.
Alonso charging into 5th for Aston.
Bortoleto out of nowhere to take 7th.
That was a special qualifying.
— formularacers (@formularacers_) August 2, 2025
Additionally, he has a huge grid advantage over his teammate, Nico Hulkenberg, who begins Sunday's race back in 19th. And you don't need to be too worried about losing place differential, as both of his previous top 10 starting positions saw him finish either where he started or one spot ahead.
Sure, defending from seventh will be a tougher task, and losing a spot early to Max Verstappen is to be expected. Beyond that, though, he shouldn't face too much pressure. The Racing Bulls cars start around where their ceiling likely is, and Hamilton/Antonelli start a little too deep to pose a huge risk.
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: 5-5
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.
