F1 Fantasy: Kimi Antonelli takes mega points haul after striking lucky in Japan

The young Italian seemed to have thrown his chances away after yet another poor start. But he quickly fought his way back from P6 to P3, then stole a march on teammate George Russell, who was unlucky to have pitted the lap before Ollie Bearman’s crash triggered a safety car. 

As Toto Wolff said in the aftermath of Antonelli’s eventual victory, it’s just how F1 goes sometimes. However, it’s still a costly one for Russell, who now sits nine championship points behind Antonelli. To rub salt into the wound, he lost out in F1 Fantasy as well, picking up 27 points to Antonelli’s 50. 

Oscar Piastri, another driver who lost out under the safety car, was net P1 when it arrived. He eventually came home second in a welcome return to form for the Aussie, after failing to finish the first two Grand Prix. While he picked up 43 fantasy points, Charles Leclerc gained 31 in-game points for a well-earned third.

Before we get into the rest of the runners and riders, don’t forget that GP247 is running its own F1 Fantasy league. If you’re interested in taking part, it’s free to sign up here. With the sport taking a welcome break (and hopefully reimagining this season's bullsh!t regulations) now is the time to take stock and get involved for the rest of the year. 

Amidst all the headlines about F1’s problematic new regulations, most fans will agree that Ferrari have been this season’s saving grace. Leclerc absolutely threw an overtake around the outside of Russell to grab a podium, and his scrap with Lewis Hamilton wasn’t bad either!

Hamilton seemed to be on the march after the safety car. But he was unable to take Piastri for second and eventually slipped to P6 for 19 in-game points.

World champion Lando Norris had a better weekend in a much improved McLaren, coming home P5 for 24 fantasy points, while Max Verstappen had another weekend to forget down in P8.

Like many fans, the Dutchman is not enjoying F1’s current ruleset and is rumored to be considering his future. Let’s see if Red Bull can turn his head with a car worth driving—in the meantime, he got just four points (13 in-game) for his efforts in Japan. 

Midfield overperformers included Liam Lawson, who took advantage of the safety car to grab P9 for 10 fantasy points. Pierre Gasly also had another stormer, taking 14 fantasy points for an impressive P7 and Nico Hulkenberg came home P11.

The experienced German narrowly missed out on real points, but his backers gained 11 fantasy points for a strong drive. 

If Mercedes aced the new regulations, it’s fair to say that Aston Martin, Williams, and Cadillac have had an absolute mare. Checo Perez has been better value in this year’s F1 Fantasy than Valtteri Bottas, with 28 points, but neither has set the world alight.

After all the PR positivity from Williams, they also need to get their act together. Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz were nowhere near the points in Suzuka. Aston Martin are even more stranded at the back—they're so slow that Fernando Alonso finishing was seen as a win. Of these backmarkers, no driver scored more than four fantasy points across a fairly dismal weekend. 

The likes of Gabriel Bortoleto could arguably have done better in a fast Audi. Isack Hadjar took the fight to Verstappen at the start, and Arvid Lindblad also lost out under the safety car. So the sport’s youngsters showed potential, despite failing to earn more than ten points between them. 

Bearman was a victim of the dramatic closing speeds caused by F1’s regulations, suffering a huge crash into Franco Colapinto (who definitely moved a little). Luckily Bearman is okay, but his fantasy backers lost 14 points, and the FIA has some serious thinking to do. 

This week, the ironically named Clipping on Straights extended their lead to 78 points in the GP247 F1 fantasy league. With Antonelli, Lawson, and the Ferrari boys in their team, it was a pretty handy week for the early leader in our standings.

But there are plenty of race weeks left (and after F1 initially cocked up the fantasy points, all post-race transfers have now been reset).

This gives us time to reconsider our choices. Mercedes are still the team to beat, but will they be in a month’s time? Ferrari seemed to drop behind McLaren in Japan, while Red Bull were lost at sea. Can they find their North Star and guide Verstappen back to the front?

Hopefully the FIA will also get to grips with the regulations in that time. We won’t hold our breaths on that! But if you’re bored of superclipping and battery overcharges, don’t forget that you can still spice things up by joining the GP247 F1 Fantasy league here.