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Euan Leith's preview of the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix in São Paulo for F1 Fantasy include weather updates, differentials for your squads, and predictions for the Sprint race, qualifying, and Grand Prix.
Happy Brazilian GP, RotoBallers! There are four races left on the F1 calendar. The on-track product is at an all-time high, and there's plenty of drama in the Championships and our F1 Fantasy leagues.
Ferrari has looked incredibly strong over the last two races. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri has faded and could fall out of favor in our F1 Fantasy squads. Friday's practice and Sprint Qualifying will reveal a lot of what we can expect in the points-scoring sessions on Saturday and Sunday.
The deadline for the Brazilian GP in F1 Fantasy is Saturday, November 2, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, when the Sprint race starts. Also, check out the rest of our excellent DFS racing coverage to get you through every NASCAR and Formula 1 race.
Previous São Paulo Grand PrixWinners
- 2023: Max Verstappen, Red Bull
- 2022: George Russell, Mercedes
- 2021: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
- 2019: Max Verstappen, Red Bull
- 2018: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
São Paulo Grand Prix Schedule
Friday, November 1st
- Free Practice 1: 10:30 a.m. ET
- Sprint Qualifying: 2:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, November 2nd
- Sprint Race: 10:00 a.m ET (***F1 Fantasy lineup lock***)
- Qualifying: 2:00 p.m. ET
Sunday, November 3rd
- Race: noon ET
São Paulo Grand Prix Weather
As is usually the case for the Brazilian Grand Prix, there is some weather to watch. Friday looks like it'll be a cloud (but dry) affair for Free Practice 1 and Sprint Qualifying. However, Saturday and Sunday could be the (literal) thunder and some rain to spice up the points-scoring sessions.
F1 Fantasy Chip Strategy
In F1 Fantasy, a lot of our chips should be deployed on Sprint race weekends. Fortunately, the Brazilian Grand Prix is one of those weekends.
No Negative
With the suspected flurry of showers in the forecast, F1 Fantasy managers would be wise to deploy this chip and avoid any negative scores in their lineups.
Extra DRS
While it's tempting to use this chip over the weekend, there's still another Sprint race (Qatar) that could produce more points. Especially with the weather up in the air, I would caution teams from activating this chip. Plus, it's so close among the top four teams that it's difficult to tell who will cross the line first on Sunday.
Auto Pilot
As I mentioned, it's tight at the top among the top four teams on the grid (McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes). So, while playing the Extra DRS chip over the weekend may not be optimal, it's a perfect opportunity to activate the Auto Pilot chip.
This chip prevents F1 Fantasy managers from stressing about who to place the DRS Boost on for the weekend, as the game will automatically give it to your highest-scoring driver. So teams with two of Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Oscar Piastri, and Max Verstappen can sleep a little easier.
F1 Fantasy Differentials
For differential picks, drivers in less than 10 percent of the Global Top 500 are eligible. Data courtesy of f1fantasytools.com.
George Russell, Mercedes (2.2% rostered)
The British driver picked up the first win of his F1 career at this track in 2022, and Mercedes, historically, does well at Interlagos. Russell has averaged the fifth-most points per race (28.4 PPR) over the last five races and should save F1 Fantasy managers enough money over other premium drivers to upgrade the backend of their lineups.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin (0.4% rostered)
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin (0.0% rostered)
The 2023 edition of this race was the last time Fernando Alonso scored over 20 F1 Fantasy points in a weekend. The oldest driver on the grid is dealing with an illness, so his status must be monitored over the weekend because Aston Martin has Brazilian Felipe Drugovich as a fine reserve driver.
Meanwhile, Lance Stroll hasn't scored more than 16 points in a race this year. However, he produced back-to-back races with at least 28 points in Brazil and Las Vegas last season. The Canadian driver is a Tier C asset in F1 Fantasy and could offer some surprising budget upside in Sao Paulo.
Esteban Ocon, Alpine (0.4% rostered)
Esteban Ocon will drive for Haas in 2025, but that doesn't mean he'll want to leave Alpine as the second-placed driver. The Frenchman has risen $2.0 million over the last three races and continues to outscore his teammate, Pierre Gasly, 112-39 in F1 Fantasy points across the 2024 campaign.
Predictions
Sprint Race
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- Lando Norris, McLaren
- Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Qualifying
- Lando Norris, McLaren
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Grand Prix
- Lando Norris, McLaren
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- George Russell, Mercedes
