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Justin Carter's DraftKings and FanDuel DFS lineup picks for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. Read our daily fantasy F1 advice and sleepers analysis.
After a few weeks off, Formula 1 is back for the stretch run. Three races remain in the 2024 season and after driving through the field for an improbable win last race at Interlagos, Max Verstappen is on the precipice of his fourth championship in a row.
But there's still plenty of drama down the stretch, especially in a tight constructor battle. McLaren sits in first with 593 points but Ferrari is just behind with 557 and Red Bull sits at 544, though the struggles from Sergio Perez are likely going to prevent Red Bull from mounting a comeback in that battle. McLaren is looking to win the constructor title for the first time since 1998, when David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen led them to the title.
Below you will find our Formula 1 DraftKings DFS lineup picks for the Las Vegas Grand Prix on 11/24/24, with the slate locking at 1:00 a.m. EST. If you have any questions or want to talk about Formula 1, you can find me on X at @juscarts.
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Captain: Pierre Gasly ($7.2K)
Starts Third
Something's going on at Alpine, and I mean that in a good way. In Brazil, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly both landed on the podium, shocking everyone, but that wasn't just a one-off. Gasly finished in the points in Mexico City and just outside them at COTA. There has been a marked increase in performance for this team.
Pierre Gasly with a MONSTER lap to qualify 3rd for Alpine!
Team Enstone are on fire 💥 pic.twitter.com/JrL7nwofcg
— formularacers (@formularacers_) November 23, 2024
Gasly was fast again in qualifying this weekend, putting the car in third. While I don't know if he has the pace to maintain a podium spot, his recent speed gives me confidence he won't lose too many spots, and he starts eight spots ahead of his teammate Ocon, giving him a great shot to earn those points.
Constructor: Ferrari ($11.7K)
Qualifying was weird. No McLaren or Red Bull in the front two rows. A Mercedes on pole while the other starts 10th. Neither Aston Martin car making it out of Q1.
But Ferrari did what Ferrari has been doing lately, which was run really fast laps. We have a Ferrari starting second and fourth on Sunday. While the weirdness of the weather at Interlagos led to a frustrating day for Ferrari, the team won two of the last three races this season.
Max Verstappen ($13.0K)
Starts Fifth
It was a valiant effort from Max Verstappen at Interlagos earlier this month. He qualified 17th while his closest championship rival, Lando Norris, started on pole. It looked like a race that could change the trajectory of the season, allowing Norris to close the gap and have all the momentum heading into these final three races.
Instead, Verstappen went from 17th to first while Norris lost the lead immediately to George Russell and faded to a sixth-place finish. Suddenly, Verstappen is the one with the momentum.
Now, he comes to a track that he won at last year, leading 29 of 50 laps on his way to victory in the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz Jr. ($10.6K)
Starts Second
I think you could stack either Ferrari driver here with the Ferrari constructor pick, but I favor Carlos Sainz Jr., who qualified second and has a better chance to lead laps early on if he can get a jump on polesitter George Russell.
KNOCK KNOCK. WHO'S THERE? IT'S CARLOS SAINZ ON THE FRONT ROW. pic.twitter.com/3qQlw6or42
— yoyo (@williamssainz) November 23, 2024
Sainz's time with Ferrari is running out, but the team is still letting him go out there and battle for wins. He's captured two victories this season including at Mexico City two races back.
Yuki Tsunoda ($4.2K)
Starts Seventh
Yuki Tsunoda is coming off a strong run last race, finishing seventh at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Since Liam Lawson joined the team three races back, Tsunoda has finished as the top VCARB driver just once, but Tsunoda was faster than Lawson in all three practice sessions and in qualifying this weekend.
Guanyu Zhou ($3.0K)
Starts 13th
2024 has not been good at all for Guanyu Zhou or for this Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber team. Zhou has yet to earn a single point, while teammate Valtteri Bottas has...well, also failed to record a point. It's been rough.
Q2! 💪🏼 Happy with the lap, maximum we could achieve today. #TeamZHOU #LasVegasGP pic.twitter.com/7i5ETKe1w4
— 周冠宇 | Zhou Guanyu 🇨🇳 (@ZhouGuanyu24) November 23, 2024
But Zhou starts 13th this week while Bottas starts last. There's some appeal here if you're looking for a dirt-cheap play with a shot at five points for defeating his teammate.
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 (finished 90% of the race, essentially), and points for place differential.
Finish three spots higher than your grid position and you 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.
