F1 Fantasy: Papaya rules the roost yet again in Bahrain

With the boys in papaya putting on another masterclass at the Sakhir International Circuit, it already seems like the 2025 title battle is becoming a two-horse race. This is being reflected in the world of F1 Fantasy as well, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri picking up a very handy 77 fantasy points between them—first and third most overall.

Ferrari’s upgrade may have had a lukewarm reception in Bahrain, but Lewis Hamilton did manage a whopping 32 points in F1 Fantasy. Fellow Brits George Russell and Ollie Bearman also scored well as the overtaking action really heated up in the desert.

Before we dive into this week’s results, don’t forget that you can still sign up for the official GP247 fantasy league here. It’s free to register, and this season’s bragging rights are still on the line with 20 races still to come, starting this weekend in Saudi.

Behind McLaren, Ferrari were the best of the rest with 58 points. While Hamilton’s impressive 38-point haul was his largest of the season so far, Max Verstappen’s struggles with the RB21 were evident in F1 Fantasy too, as he picked up 22 points (his lowest total this year).

Back in the midfield, Haas followed up a fantastic double points finish in China with another one in Bahrain. Due to this year’s fantasy point scoring system, Esteban Ocon scored fewer than his teammate despite finishing two places ahead in eighth. But both will be happy with their efforts—and at the moment, they arguably represent F1 Fantasy's biggest bargains.

Other high scorers included Alex Albon, who racked up another 15 points, and Liam Lawson, who recovered well from a tricky start to the year with 11 points. His Red Bull replacement, Yuki Tsunoda, also seemed to settle a bit, scoring two real points as well as nine fantasy ones.

Pierre Gasly deserves an honorable mention too. Alpine were flying all weekend in Bahrain, and he maximized this potential, picking up a very handy seventh place. He only scored 13 points for his efforts, but the Frenchman isn’t exactly the most expensive driver on the F1 Fantasy grid. If his team is on an upward trajectory, he could be one to watch in Jeddah.

Once again, Aston Martin were nowhere to be seen in Bahrain. Both drivers were well off the pace and finished over a minute behind the race-winning Piastri. Lance Stroll’s early season flurry of fantasy points has proven to be a false dawn as BettingApps Canada's favorite racer picked up just seven points in Bahrain. The Canadian picked up just seven points in Bahrain, while teammate Fernando Alonso scored a measly five (and this is probably more than they deserved).

Since Nico Hulkenberg’s stunning P7 in Australia, KICK Sauber have also returned to form. The German was week four’s biggest loser in Bahrain with -20 points. In the team’s other seat, rookie Gabriel Bortoleto struggled to do much better with 4 points.

Elsewhere, Jack Doohan failed to capitalize on Alpine's outstanding Bahrain pace, dropping down the order to finish well outside the top ten and pick up just two fantasy points. Carlos Sainz didn’t make an impression at Williams either. His transfer from Ferrari is fast becoming one of the biggest flops of the season—he scored -9 points after yet another DNF.

Isack Hadjar, meanwhile, came back down to earth following an impressive eighth-place finish in Japan. He racked up just five fantasy points, leaving him with room to improve in Saudi.

Well done to Neal Brett’s team, Papaya, who retained top spot in this week’s GP247 F1 Fantasy League. However, they lost points to new second-place team, Zinzan’s No. 1 Army, who picked Piastri over Norris.

The jury’s out on who Zinzan is! But Papaya Rules will be well and truly off between these two over the coming weeks. Those looking for top tips should note how both picked Bearman and Ocon for their lineup this week—they’re clearly the two midfield drivers to beat at the minute.

However, third-placed Sofia Torrente did choose George Russell as their most expensive pick, showing that there’s still room for thinking outside the box as we head to Jeddah this coming weekend.