
Justin Carter's DraftKings DFS lineup picks for the 2025 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix. Read our daily fantasy F1 advice and sleepers analysis.
Formula 1 heads to Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend for the Spanish Grand Prix. After what was essentially just a glorified parade last weekend in Monaco, will we get to see any big on-track action this weekend?
New FIA regulations on front wings have led to virtually every team making upgrades this weekend, but the starting grid looks about like it always does, as McLaren holds the first two spots.
Below, you will find our Formula 1 DraftKings DFS lineup picks for the Spanish Grand Prix on 6/1/25, 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: Pierre Gasly ($7.2K)
Starts Eighth
It's been a pretty good weekend for Pierre Gasly as Alpine's upgrades this weekend seem to have at least brought some speed to his No. 10 car, even if Franco Colapinto has been down near the bottom of the speed chart.
In fact, the gap between the two has been incredibly wide this weekend, which is part of why I'm high on Gasly in DFS. Barring a mechanical failure or crash or the worst pit strategy in history, he's going to finish as the top Alpine.
Just look at how the weekend has gone so far:
Pierre Gasly | Franco Colapinto | |
---|---|---|
FP1 | 10th | 20th |
FP2 | Eighth | 20th |
FP3 | 16th | 17th |
Qualifying | Eighth | 19th |
The only time the two were remotely close was in FP3, when Gasly just didn't find the speed he'd had all weekend. Even then, Gasly outpaced his teammate.
Whether Gasly can stick in the top 10 and score points still remains to be seen, but his huge grid advantage and the solid speed he's shown for the majority of the weekend give him clear upside.
Constructor: McLaren ($15.5K)
Based on the speed we've seen all weekend out of the McLaren cars, I'm comfortable spending up to grab them as my Constructor pick.
In FP1, McLaren went first and fifth. It seemed like Oscar Piastri might have been a little off to open the weekend, but he then went quickest in FP2 while Norris was fourth.
OSCAR PIASTRI IS ON POLE POSITION! 🥇👏
The McLaren driver leads a 1-2 for the team ahead of Verstappen and Russell!#F1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/3uBGHv5SPM
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 31, 2025
Then on Saturday, the two McLaren drivers were one-two at the top of the charts, followed by the two cars taking a front-row lockout in qualifying.
History suggests that this front-row lockout means a McLaren driver will get the win on Sunday, as the race winner has come from the first row in eight consecutive Spanish Grand Prix races. In fact, the winner here has come from beyond the first row just three times ever at this track, which has been hosting races since 1991. The deepest winner was Fernando Alonso in 2013 from fifth place.
Oscar Piastri ($12.8K)
Starts First
We should stack a McLaren driver with our McLaren Constructor pick. You could save $200 by going with Lando Norris, but Piastri was just so much faster on Saturday in qualifying. Here's how their three runs compare:
Oscar Piastri | Lando Norris | |
---|---|---|
Q1 | 1:12.551 | 1:12.799 |
Q2 | 1:11.998 | 1:12.056 |
Q3 | 1:11.546 | 1:11.755 |
With the price of the two being a negligible difference that likely won't impact your lineup building, go with the faster driver, especially since Piastri has more victories this season than Norris does.
You could try to fade McLaren — there were people who thought new regulations and upgrades across the field would harm their speed this weekend — and go heavy on Max Verstappen. It's not the outcome I expect, but it's not a bad GPP strategy, where the McLaren boys are set to be heavily featured in lineups.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli ($7.4K)
Starts Sixth
Here lies an issue with building a McLaren lineup. If you spend to play McLaren as Constructor and one of Piastri or Norris in your lineup, you can't really afford another big name.
For example, if I paid for Verstappen and Mercedes instead — the driver who starts third plus a Constructor with drivers starting fourth and sixth — then...well, then I could afford to still go in and play either Piastri or Norris with money left over. It's not a bad strategy, though it limits your Constructor upside by a lot.
However, if you go with the strategy we're discussing in the article, you basically need to bet on a big race from rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli. He struggled big time in Monaco, but he's finished in the points five times in his eight races this season.
Risky move, but if you want to maximize McLaren points, you're kind of stuck with it unless you want to start getting really weird with your lineup.
Ollie Bearman ($3.8K)
Starts 15th
Bearman looked like he was going to have a better weekend than this starting spot suggests. He was seventh in FP1, ahead of both Williams and Mercedes cars, but that speed disappeared afterward, with him sitting near the bottom in FP2 and FP3.
OLLIE IS THROUGH WHAT A LAP#SpanishGP 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/dhrO4G7d5E
— Updates Ollie Bearman (@bestofbearman) May 31, 2025
Still, Bearman has run decently well during races, including going from 20th to 12th at Monaco last weekend. He's either maintained his starting spot or gained spots in every single 2025 race.
That makes me fairly confident that he can stay in front of teammate Esteban Ocon, who starts 17th, as Ocon has lost spots in two of the last three races.
Gabriel Bortoleto ($3.0K)
Starts 12th
It's been a fairly bad rookie year for Gabriel Bortoleto, whose average finish is just 16.9 and who has failed to finish two races already.
P12!! Best race start position for bortoleto. I am begging the team give gabi a good strategy tomorrow🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻#SpanishGP #GabrielBortoleto #sauber pic.twitter.com/BfRXU6Tubr
— G.Bortoleto-China (@Halinyu) May 31, 2025
But Bortoleto qualified well and he's been the top Sauber driver three times this season, so while Nico Hulkenberg is the better of the two, the fact that Bortoleto starts four spots ahead on Sunday, as well as the fact he's $1.0K cheaper than his teammate, makes him an appealing value option.
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: Lewis Hamilton
- Racing Bulls: Isack Hadjar
- Williams: Alexander Albon
- Haas: Ollie Bearman
- Sauber: Gabriel Bortoleto
- Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso
- Alpine: Pierre Gasly
Last race's record: 7-3
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.