F1 Fantasy: Surprise joint winners in Texas as McLaren bottle it 

Heading to the Circuit of the Americas, all the talk was about whether “the gloves were off” in the Formula 1 Title race. As it turned out, fans got an answer at the very first corner of the Sprint, with Oscar Piastri wiping out his McLaren teammate following a bump from Nico Hulkenberg.

Lando Norris had a better main race, recovering from third to take second behind Verstappen. Piastri was off-form, only managing P5. But truth be told, neither will be particularly happy with their weekend—and they recorded just seven fantasy points between them.

Leclerc, who fought his way up from tenth to fifth in the Sprint, joined Verstappen at the top of the standings with 48 points. After winning both races, the Dutchman now looks to be right in the mix for this year’s drivers’ crown, and just 20% of fantasy players picked him! That wasn’t the only upset either; let’s take a look at the biggest winners & losers in Austin.

Early in the weekend, it seemed like Ferrari were all at sea. But by the time regular qualifying came around, they were right back in the mix, jumping from 8th & 10th to 3rd & 5th. Off the start, this made all the difference for Leclerc, who started on softs and snatched second from Norris.

Okay, he ended up losing the place, but the Monegasque defended valiantly all race, earning him driver of the day. Lewis Hamilton also showed glimpses of his old self, beating his teammate in the Sprint and taking fourth in the main event for 32 in-game points.

Fresh off the back of his new Mercedes contract, George Russell drove a solid Sprint (failed dive bomb on Verstappen aside) to take home second. He followed this up with a poor start in the full race, which he never really recovered from. That said, the Brit still outperformed teammate Kimi Antonelli, who lost out in Sunday's race after tangling with Carlos Sainz at T15.

Despite picking up 24 & 22 points, respectively, both were (remarkably) outscored by Yuki Tsunoda. It seems that Red Bull have finally gotten their act together post-Horner, as even their rear gunner is starting to finish in the top ten. Only 6% of all F1 Fantasy players picked the Japanese—and he rewarded his loyal in-game followers with 37 points.

All year F1 Fantasy has harshly punished non-finishers, and Austin was no exception. Hulkenberg found himself a passenger at the turn one crash in the Sprint. However, he still DNF’d, meaning that he scored just two fantasy points, despite finishing P8 in the full race.

Fernando Alonso was also caught up in the McLaren turn one farce, sending him for an early bath. He actually scored an impressive point in the full race, which is more than can be said for his teammate (who, yes, crashed again). The Canadian’s latest victim, Esteban Ocon, had his own struggle session over an anonymous weekend that saw him finish the main race a sub-par 15th.

All three scored minus points in F1 Fantasy, but Sainz somehow had an even worse weekend, going from hero to zero. After yet another shock podium in the Sprint, the Spaniard seemed to be bang in form, diving past Bearman for P8. But Antonelli wasn’t as keen to jump out of the way, causing them to collide at the same corner a few laps later. He too was punished, picking up -3 fantasy points.

Elsewhere, Alpine were once again right at the very back. Franco Colapinto pulled an “unsanctioned” overtake on Pierre Gasly, providing a rare moment of overtaking action for the pair, but at this point, they must be desperate for the year to end. In F1 Fantasy, Colapinto scored seven points to Gasly’s three, but in truth it was more than their pace deserved.

Yet again, GrandPrix247 F1 Fantasy League top scorer 44th Gear stretched their lead at the top of the pile—it now stands at a whopping 392 points. Seemingly rewarded for throwing their weight behind Verstappen, they also picked Russell alongside Gabriel Bortoleto and Liam Lawson, the latter somehow picking up a combined 32 points on an innocuous weekend.

Curiosities of the F1 Fantasy point scoring system aside, in-game patterns seem to have emerged at recent grand prix. Verstappen is starting to dominate like it's 2023, making him a must-choose over Norris & Piastri. Russell appears most likely to spring a surprise, while the likes of Alex Albon and Bearman have re-emerged as potential bargains in F1’s midfield.

Will these trends continue? We’ll find out in just a few days time at the Mexico Grand Prix from October 24-26, 2025. Join our F1 Fantasy league here, and tune in to GrandPrix247 for full coverage of the race weekend.