F1 Fantasy: How to play in 2023 season and top tips for Monaco Grand Prix

Each player gets to pick five drivers and two constructors, but you must stay within the cost cap of $100m

The new Formula 1 season is here - and that means F1 Fantasy is back!

The game will see millions of motor sport fans pick their fantasy selection of drivers for an imaginary $100m budget.

F1 Fantasy began five years ago and it has grown rapidly in popularity, in line with F1’s rise in popularity. The 2023 season will reward those players who are able to spot the early trends as the new season takes shape.

See below for all the rules and top tips:

How to play F1 Fantasy 2023

Each player gets to pick five drivers and two constructors (up from one in 2022) ahead of the first race of the season in Bahrain, spending a budget of $100m.

They also pick a weekly ‘DRS Boost’ whose points are doubled – and new for 2023, any driver in your team can be given the DRS boost. There are also chips available to power up your team, 6 in total: Autopilot, Extra DRS boost, No Negative, Wildcard, Limitless and Final Fix.

Max Verstappen is the most expensive driver at $27.4m, with Lewis Hamilton second on $23.8m and Charles Leclerc on $21.2m. As for the Constructors, Red Bull are $27.7m, Mercedes $25.1m and Ferrari $22.2m.

Players can make up to two transfers to their team per week, up until the start of qualifying. More than 2 transfers carries a 4 point penalty per additional transfer - similar to Fantasy Premier League.

F1 Fantasy tips (pre-Monaco)

Let’s not mess about: get Fernando Alonso on your team! The two-time world champion, for Aston Martin, who has finished third in four out of the five races, is still something of a steal at $9.2m.

Elsewhere, Nico Hulkenberg is a cheap option at $3.9m while Lance Stroll is also not a bad bet at $7.7m.

It’s still hard to look beyond picking Max Verstappen ($27.4m), but Carlos Sainz is not a bad bet for your second-most expensive driver - at $17.2m.

Similarly, Aston Martin are an obvious Constructors option at this point at $7.0m alongside one of the big boys.

The deadline to make changes to your team is Monaco qualifying at 3pm (BST) on Saturday afternoon

Max Verstappen is the most expensive player at $27.4m - and maybe you should plump for Fernando Alonso too (Getty Images)

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One key to success in Fantasy F1 is riding the price waves and increasing the value of your team. You can do this by identifying the best value picks each week, and also by buying and selling strategically - so buy a successful driver at the end of a race on Sunday and sell him on later the following week for a profit.

It’s worth biding your time when it comes to making your final substitutions, however. Practice on Friday will generally reveal plenty about what go down in qualifying, so waiting as long as possible to soak up information will help in making the right decisions each week.

Given the budgetary restrictions, and the fact that most players will have some combination of Hamilton, Verstappen, Mercedes or Red Bull, the area to get a jump on the rest is in the midfield pack.

Will Ferrari toppple Red Bull? Can McLaren top the midfield? And what about Alpine?

How does the scoring work?

Qualifying:

Pole position (first place)

10 pts

2nd place

9 pts

3rd place

8 pts

4th place

7 pts

5th place

6 pts

6th place

5 pts

7th place

4 pts

8th place

3 pts

9th place

2 pts

10th place

1 pt

No time set

-5 pts

Disqualification from qualifying

-15 pts

Constructors’ in qualifying

Neither driver reaches Q2

-1 pt

One driver reaches Q2

1 pt

Both drivers reach Q2

3 pts

One driver reaches Q3

5 pts

Both drivers reach Q3

10 pts

Race:

1st Place

25 pts

2nd place

18 pts

3rd place

15 pts

4th place

12 pts

5th place

10 pts

6th place

8 pts

7th place

6 pts

8th place

4 pts

9th place

2 pts

10th place

1 pt

11th-20th place

0 pts

DNF/Not classified

-20 points

Disqualified

-25 points

Extras

Positions Gained

1 pt per position

Positions lost

-1 point per position

Overtakes made

1 pt per overtake

Fastest lap

10 points

Driver of the Day

10 points

Constructors’ in race

Fastest pitstop

10 points

2nd fastest pitstop

5 points

3rd fastest pitstop

3 pts