F1 isn't all bad in 2026: what GP racing has gained and lost with its new rules
Six months into Formula 1's biggest regulation reset in a generation, the new rules have delivered genuine wins and real problems in almost equal measure
Verstappen mulls his F1 Fantasy team
Grand Prix Photo
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‘The king is dead, long live the king etc’. As one reign ends, another begins. It looks like Oscar Piastri’s F1 Fantasy crown has slipped after a series of uninspiring performances.
Who’s been there to leap in and pick it up – and who should you be choosing in your driver/team combinations?
Up there where the Mexican air is somewhat rarefied, the form book has often been ripped up as engines gasp for oxygen and aerodynamics start behaving somewhat oddly. This makes your crucial decisions trickier than ever.
The state of F1 2025 – and also the Fantasy landscape – summed up in one picture
Red Bull
Also throw into the equation that we’re now well and truly into the season’s run-in, it’s clear there are some hard truths that need to be accepted if you want to maximise your F1 Fantasy points.
Don’t look so worried though. Motor Sport is here to guide you on your F1 Fantasy trek up to the high plains of Mexico City, being sure to help you return with pure gold.
There’s only one form man in F1 right now: Max Emilian Verstappen ($29.1m). Another win in Austin grabbed him 48 Fantasy points, with a 27 and 45 coming before that.
Meanwhile Piastri’s ($26.3m) recent return has been dismal. His tally in the most recent rounds has been -16, 19 and -2 .
It isn’t even a choice, you now simply have to wave adios to Oscar and get the Red Bull driver in as your lead driver.
Isack Hadjar ($6.5m) and Ollie Bearman ($7.7m) have been relative equivalents in F1 Fantasy so far this season, with players often opting for one of the other. It’s time now though to face the facts: Bearman is the better option, again scoring more points in Austin. Sign him up.
Grabbing a load of positions in the sprint meant that Gabriel Bortoleto ($6.7m) again did well with 17 Fantasy big ones, cementing his reputation as a late season bargain. He’s a must-have midfield star.
Carlos Sainz ($6.9m) had a bit of a shocker in the US GP, undoing all his good sprint work by pranging into the hapless Kimi Antonelli. However, let’s not be swayed by that brief misdemeanour. The sometimes-smooth operator has been in decent form of late, making him a good pick.
The ever-combative Liam Lawson ($7.1m) snatched a handy 17 Fantasy points in Austin. Keep him in!
Bearman delivers to he bad news to Hadjar – he’s out!
Red Bull
Is it worth having another front-running pilot instead of two top teams? Such have been the poor scores of Norris, and intermittent form of Russell, we’d say not.
We’ve therefore selected Red Bull ($29.9m) and Ferrari ($31.2m), easily the two best scoring teams over the last few races. It’s worth taking a -10 hit to make it happen if you have to.
We’d say hold off on the chips for the Sao Paulo or Qatar sprint weekends, or for if we hit some adverse weather which mixes up the grid (unlikely in Mexico).

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