F1 Fantasy: Norris strikes back in weird Monaco GP

Norris handled everything his opponents could throw at him throughout an abnormal race in Monte Carlo, withstanding late pressure from Charles Leclerc to claim a much-needed victory. This saw him rewarded with a whopping 45 fantasy points, eight points more than the Monegasque.

His other rivals were even further behind. Despite doing his best to back Norris into Leclerc and hold on for a safety car, Max Verstappen could only finish fourth, earning him 18 points.

Oscar Piastri ultimately had a relatively good weekend (especially considering how much he was sliding around), but only picked up 23 points in F1 Fantasy for a handy podium finish.

From Verstappen downwards, there were a number of bigger surprises. But before we get stuck into our breakdown, don’t forget that GP247 is running its very own fantasy league. There’s still time to register and potentially win some impressive prizes here.

Given that he's made a relatively good start to the season, you might think that Ollie Bearman scoring highly in F1 Fantasy isn’t much of a surprise. But the rookie had actually suffered a series of setbacks in Imola, Miami, and Jeddah. In that context, eight fantasy points isn’t too bad at all—although he didn’t quite manage a top ten finish.

Racing Bulls pair Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar also racked up 19 points between them. The former probably had his best weekend in Formula 1, playing a pivotal role in holding up the pack so the latter could finish sixth. In that sense, both were good value for their points.

Arguably, Lewis Hamilton did similarly well in Monaco, scoring 19 fantasy league points of his own. But when you consider that Leclerc nearly won the grand prix in the sister Ferrari, the seven-time F1 world champion will be disappointed that he wasn’t able to achieve more on a weekend that appeared to present a rare opportunity for a victory.

Chief among the losers in Monaco was Mercedes. Kimi Antonelli’s shunt in qualifying was quickly compounded by George Russell’s breakdown in the tunnel. To make matters worse, Russell then earned himself a drive-through penalty in the race for missing the nouvelle chicane during an ‘attempted overtake’ on Alex Albon.

This left the pair with one fantasy point and zero actual points between them. Williams duo Albon and Carlos Sainz also failed to make a mark.

Unlike Racing Bulls' pairing, they weren’t rewarded for their race-manipulating antics, they earned just four and two points, respectively. This is because they achieved the same level of sh!thousery but finished a few places further back.

Gabriel Bortoleto had a disaster on the opening lap, dropping it in the barriers when trying to defend against Antonelli. However, he was eventually able to recover, continue his race, and finish 14th, earning three points for the 23% of players that picked him.

Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for Fernando Alonso, whose horrendous season continued with another breakdown (and the F1 Fantasy gods rewarded him with -16 points). Yuki Tsunoda didn’t have the best of weekends either, finishing 17th for -5 points. Although he has one-upped Lawson at Red Bull thus far, so there’s hope for the Japanese driver yet.

There’s a fresh face at the summit of the GP247 fantasy league standings this week; 44th Gear has taken the top spot. We suspect that our new leader is a Hamilton fan, so they’re probably having a better time playing F1 Fantasy than watching the actual races.

Playing their limitless chip has at least given them a little respite and propelled them to the top of our league. That said, previous leaders Zinzan’s No. 1 Army, Team Papaya, and Unsafe Release remain in close attendance. There’s more than half a season to go, so plenty for players to compete for.

GP247’s fantasy league remains open to new players here. There’s still time to try and win one of the many prizes being dished out in this year’s contest. Stay tuned for further coverage as we help you stay on top of all things F1 Fantasy for the rest of the year.