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Justin Carter's DraftKings DFS lineup picks for the 2025 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Read our daily fantasy F1 advice and sleepers analysis.
It all comes down to this. The final Formula 1 race has arrived, with three drivers still mathematically alive in the championship battle. Those three drivers start one-two-three in Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, so we should be treated to a good show.
Who'll walk away with the title? Lando Norris has the edge, as all he has to do to clinch the title is finish in the top three. Max Verstappen, though, is on the pole for this race and would win the championship if he wins Sunday's race and Norris finishes fourth or worse. Oscar Piastri is alive as well, but faces tougher odds. Win, and he would still need Norris to finish sixth or worse to take home the championship.
Below, you will find our Formula 1 DraftKings DFS lineup picks for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 12/7/25. This F1 slate locks at 8:00 a.m. EST. Want to talk about the final Formula 1 race of the season? Hit me up on X at @juscarts, or on Bluesky, and let's talk racing.
Want to build a winning fantasy F1 lineup? Check out our How To Play F1 Fantasy (Formula 1): Overview Guide, Tips, Chips, and Rules for all the essential tips and strategies to get you started on the right foot.
Captain: Gabriel Bortoleto ($5.4K)
Starts Seventh
We're lightly punting here with Gabriel Bortoleto so that we can allocate our salary elsewhere, but that doesn't mean I'm not intrigued by Bortoleto this weekend.
The rookie has had a rough run since his 10th-place finish in Mexico, with two DNFs and a 13th last week. However, that 13th in Qatar was impressive, as Bortoleto started 19th and made his way through the field.
This race marks the first time since Monza in September that Bortoleto qualified in the top 10. He started seventh and finished eighth in that race. Overall, the rookie has four starts in the top 10 this year, and he's finished in the top 10 in all four of those races.
Constructor: McLaren ($15.0K)
The McLaren duo start second and third. It's going to be interesting to see how the two race each other, but Norris doesn't have a ton of pressure on him here. He can cruise around in second or third and walk away with the title. I wouldn't expect him to push too hard.
As for Piastri, his title hopes are faint at this point. The fact that he needs Norris to finish sixth or worse in the event of a Piastri win or 10th or worse (with Verstappen fourth or worse) in the event of a Piastri runner-up finish makes it difficult to really see him winning the title.
Could he push too hard and make a mistake? Sure, but if it becomes clear that Verstappen is going to run away with the race, it's easy to imagine McLaren asking Piastri to settle into third and play defense to ensure Norris gets that top-three finish and wins the title.
McLaren is by far the most likely team to get a double podium.
Max Verstappen ($14.0K)
Starts First
Verstappen's task here is simple: win the race and hope something happens to the McLarens.
There's really nothing Verstappen can do other than that. If Norris gets a podium, Verstappen loses the title, so this might be a really simple race to figure out.
Yesss @redbullracing!!! Let’s have some fun in the race and finish in style 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Lym1M458MI
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) December 6, 2025
First, polesitter Verstappen gets out to an early lead. There's no sense in Norris being aggressive at the start, because any accidental contact racing with Verstappen at the start could end his title hopes.
Then, Verstappen cruises to a win. Maybe Piastri gets past Norris and mounts a charge, but Verstappen will have the advantage there. He's been faster than Piastri all weekend.
It's possible that Verstappen tries to slow things down and back the McLarens up to the rest of the field, but the issue with that is it puts him in danger of being passed with DRS.
Fernando Alonso ($5.8K)
Starts Sixth
Fernando Alonso seems to have found some speed here late in the year, as Sunday marks his third top-10 starting run in a row. He qualified sixth on Saturday, his best starting spot since Hungary, where he started and finished fifth.
Meanwhile, teammate Lance Stroll will start this race way back in 15th. That gives Alonso a clear edge in the battle for the "defeated teammate" points.
Fernando Alonso has finished ahead of Lance Stroll in every qualifying session this year.
24-0. pic.twitter.com/OAZmDUo4uV
— formularacers (@formularacers_) December 6, 2025
Alonso has finished as the top Aston Martin driver in six of the past seven races. After it looked like the gap between him and Stroll had closed a bit early in the season, Alonso has once again firmly established himself as the team's best driver.
Isack Hadjar ($5.4K)
Starts Ninth
It's been a strong rookie campaign for Isack Hadjar, who has run well enough to earn promotion to the second Red Bull seat next season. Sadly, that second Red Bull seat is a DFS nightmare, since it's almost impossible for whoever is in it to beat out Verstappen.
That means this might be the last chance for a while to get a good fantasy day out of Hadjar, who fires off ninth on Sunday. He's coming off a disappointing race in Qatar, but had back-to-back top 10s before that. Hadjar has been showing consistent speed recently.
Esteban Ocon ($4.0K)
Starts Eighth
Strong qualifying effort from Esteban Ocon, who starts in the top 10 for the first time since Monaco, way back in May. It's just the third time all season that Ocon has made it to Q3.
ALLEZZZZ !! it’s been a tough few saturdays for us so very happy for today! back in Q3 and P8 for the last race of the season ~ big credit to the team for the relentless work, we never stopped pushing!! in a decent position for tomorrow, let’s get it 👊🏼 @HaasF1Team pic.twitter.com/DMgsH7ZMs5
— Esteban Ocon (@OconEsteban) December 6, 2025
Despite that, Ocon has finished in the points eight times, showcasing that he's better at race pace than qualifying pace. He actually comes into this weekend having finished better than where he started in five consecutive races.
Will he be able to improve on his eighth-place starting spot on Sunday? It won't be easy, but I do think Ocon is in a good spot to maintain his spot on the grid. None of the cars behind him save for maybe Isack Hadjar are going to have the juice to beat him until we get all the way back to Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is 14th on the starting grid.
Defeated Teammate Picks
Here are the picks for who will come out on top for each constructor.
- McLaren: Lando Norris
- 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: 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.
