F1 Fantasy: Max is surprised, so are we! Verstappen takes top spot despite Lando Norris win in Hungary

In an entertaining Hungarian Grand Prix, where battery issues were kept to a minimum, Lando Norris capitalized on his teammate’s misfortune to grab a vital win. Oscar Piastri had snatched the lead in the opening turns. However, Carlos Sainz later crashed into him as he was racing fellow backmarkers, demoting Piastri to P2. 

While Norris streaked to victory and 37 fantasy points, Piastri then broke down, retiring for -11 in-game points. Somehow, Verstappen ended up taking P2 for a whopping 39 points. In the aftermath of the race, even he sounded shocked. But it was an excellent drive from the Dutchman in a very difficult Red Bull. 

Ferrari also had a hand in it. Once again, Lewis Hamilton was snookered by penalties. He was also pitted under a late VSC, which didn’t help. That’s how he lost track position and dropped to an eventual P5. In F1 Fantasy, he picked up 25 points; Charles Leclerc scored 31 points for P4, setting the fastest lap. 

All this did little to spoil young Kimi Antonelli’s afternoon. He finished third with 28 in-game points, but both Hamilton and George Russell ended up behind him. So, Antonelli remains top of the pile in F1 Fantasy–and he’s two race wins clear at the top of the real standings. 

In many respects, the back end of the top ten featured the usual suspects. Isack Hadjar did well to hold off Russell for P6, although he did get outscored 23-15 in F1 Fantasy. This is because Russell bogged down off the line. Dropping through the field gave him the chance to fight back, taking 14 places in the race. 

Liam Lawson was best of the rest in P8, earning him a decent haul, 13 in-game points. Nico Hulkenberg (who somehow only picked up his top-ten finish of the year) earned 9 fantasy points for ninth place, and Arvid Lindblad was rewarded with just 4 points for P10, as he dropped a position during the grand prix. 

Gabriel Bortoleto narrowly missed out on P11 but gained 10 in-game points after picking up three places. Not a bad showing from Audi after a rocky start under Allan McNish! Pierre Gasly scored less well with 6 fantasy points for P12. Alpine wasn't really at the races in Hungary; it was a bit of a reality check. 

The biggest surprise point scorers were Aston Martin. They brought 16 upgrades to the Hungaroring, and they worked a treat. Lance Stroll benefited from tyre strategy to pip Fernando Alonso to P13, but it was a remarkable improvement for the pair, who scored 25 fantasy points between them.

It was another difficult race for Haas. At the moment, they don’t have top-ten pace. Rumors continue to swirl around Esteban Ocon, and Ollie Bearman, F1 Fantasy’s most popular driver, finished three places back in P19. With 7 in-game points between them and no chance in hell of any real ones, something has to change. 

If anything, Williams were even more disastrous. During qualifying, James Vowles was apologetic to his drivers, admitting that the car wasn’t good enough. But in-race, they didn’t cover themselves in glory either. P17 & P18 is shocking, nearly as embarrassing as Sainz driving blindly into the race leader. 

The Spaniard got very salty when Antonelli criticized him on the radio a couple of weeks ago. Maybe he’s expecting an apology from Piastri, seeing as he vented as well? Sainz shouldn’t count on it! 

Lastly, Cadillac also struggled, as both drivers DNF’d due to reliability issues. It’s more forgivable than the mistakes Aston and Williams have made this season. But the American outfit will need to pull themselves together, or they’ll be left holding the wooden spoon when the checkered flag falls in Abu Dhabi. 

It’s as you were in the GP247 F1 Fantasy league. Sammyed F1 Racing is still out front, 116 points ahead of Clipping on Straights. Picking Leclerc over Antonelli turned out to be an inspired choice. Hamilton’s latest penalties also played into our leader’s hands, and Lindblad didn’t score particularly well either. 

Heading into the summer break, F1 Fantasy players have plenty of time to change things up. Statistically, Racing Bulls have offered the best value for money in the game so far. But Audi are now starting to show some form, as are Aston Martin. Could they be worth a punt for the remainder of the season? 

More broadly, Antonelli’s incredible campaign so far has put him 50 points in the lead. Can a rejuvenated Norris lay a glove on him? Can his closest challengers Russell and Hamilton fight back? It’ll be exciting to watch. If you want to spice things up even more, F1 Fantasy is free. You can sign up for our league here.