Norris crowned in Abu Dhabi, but who won in F1 Fantasy? 

Once the Dutchman had closed the door on Norris in the opening meters, he disappeared into the distance. When fellow title rival Oscar Piastri snatched second from his teammate, all that was required was a Charles Leclerc overtake to make Verstappen champion.

Despite the move failing to materialize, Verstappen resisted the urge to back up the pack, instead opting to protect track position. That said, it’s likely that Piastri would’ve played the team game anyway, giving Norris P2 and protecting him late on. So, things didn’t quite work out for Verstappen in the title race, but he did take home 46 points in F1 Fantasy.

Interestingly, both Norris (29) and Piastri (28) were outscored by Leclerc. In my Abu Dhabi virtual gridwalk, I predicted that he’d slip down the field, with George Russell presenting the main threat. How wrong I was! Leclerc finished a brilliant fourth for 35 in-game points.

Ferrari were faster than expected in general. Even Lewis Hamilton, who rounded off a horrific season with a third Q1 exit in succession, recovered from P16 to P8 for 28 fantasy points. There were other surprises further back as well. So, we might not have been treated to the high-octane antics of 2021, but there was still plenty to keep us entertained in the final Formula 1 race of the year.

Mercedes were surprise underperformers in Abu Dhabi. The Silver Arrows have been pretty handy in cool conditions across the season. But Russell openly said they “had no grip,” and he was fortunate to take P5 for 20 in-game points. Kimi Antonelli was nowhere in P14, perhaps showing their true pace—and he picked up just five fantasy points for his troubles.

By contrast, Aston Martin had one of their best weekends of the season. Fernando Alonso topped an outstanding P7 in Qatar with a well-earned P6. Teammate Lance Stroll also got in the points, grabbing P10, and the pair was rewarded with 37 fantasy points. A good result! But they’ve been MIA for much of the season—they’ll be hoping Adrian Newey will change things next year.

Esteban Ocon lagged well behind his young teammate right up until the closing stages of Q2. However, he outpaced Ollie Bearman when it counted, eventually converting P8 into a P7 race result, his best showing since finishing P5 at the Chinese Grand Prix back in March. Nico Hulkenberg also returned to form with P9—earning a hefty haul of 24 points in F1 Fantasy.

For much of the season, Williams have fought in the upper midfield. Carlos Sainz has even earned two race podiums before his replacement at Ferrari has managed one. Yet, he and Alex Albon were off the pace in Abu Dhabi, taking 13 in-game points for P13 & P16.

Racing Bulls were similarly out of sorts. Isack Hadjar has put in such a strong performance this season; he’s being rewarded with the poisoned chalice of becoming Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate next year. Lawson has also improved since his demotion from the senior team, but they were lapped in P17 & P18 this time out, collecting -1 points between them.

Other low point scorers included Yuki Tsunoda, who spectacularly failed to hold up Norris in the title battle. He finished P14, scored just one fantasy point, and did not earn the nickname “Japanese Minister of Defense.” Alpine were once again last and second to last, with Pierre Gasly earning three points to Franco Colapinto’s zero. They’ll be delighted to see the back of 2025.

Drumroll please... the winner of the GP247 fantasy league is… 44th Gear! It’s no surprise; they’ve been top all year. Then again, like Lando Norris, they did manage to hold off a late fight back from second place for the title, so fair play and congrats to team boss Gavin De Souza.

For those interested, Verstappen was the top scorer, beating Norris 776-707 in F1 Fantasy, with the game rewarding the Dutchman for overtaking and recovery runs through the field. The rest of the standings run in order from Piastri to Antonelli. Elsewhere, Bearman came P8 in fantasy with 206 points but took P13 in the real championship, while Tsunoda came P10 (not P17 like in real life).

This reliance on in-game tactics completely shook up the midfield, with every driver finishing out of position between Antonelli and championship backmarkers Gabriel Bortoleto & Colapinto. We hope this added a bit of spice to your season (where Papaya Rules took it away) and appreciate everyone taking part. Thanks for sticking with us over the 24-race campaign!