Has there been as much hype for a new track in F1 as we’ve seen for the Miami GP? The crowds and the buzz has been huge. After three practice sessions and a qualifying session, we still don’t know exactly how the race will play out. That adds to the excitement. For DFS though, that means there’s a few ways we can try and build our lineups, especially with the adjusted pricing on DraftKings.
Miami GP Track Layout
For those that may not have watched any of the practices this week, the Miami International Autodrome, as it’s known, is a 5.41-km, 19-turn track that weaves it’s way around the grounds of Hard Rock Stadium. It’s generally considered a mix of Baku and Jeddah. Overall, it’s a very fast track with more high-speed corners than low-speed ones and a few very long straights. In typical street circuit form, the racing line is relatively narrow and there’s not a lot of runoff. Passing could be tricky and perhaps only doable early in the race when the line isn’t fully rubbered in. Tire wear and pit strategy could ultimately be the main way that drivers gain or lose spots in the race. As you’ll see below, the Turns 11-16 part of the track is the most important for gaining time or trying not to lose time.
F1 DFS Strategy
Typically in DFS we’ve seen that correlating our Captain and the Constructor spots was the best way to maximize points but that’s not necessarily the case heading into this week. Why? Well they changed the pricing, making it tighter and tougher to pair the top Constructors and Captains. That’s still a viable strategy, but it takes more delving into the cheap drivers and hoping they hit. With this being a new track, no one is 100-percent sure how the race will unfold but if we look back at similar tracks like Baku, Jeddah, and Imola, we can get an idea of how to build. There are 57 laps in Sunday’s race and there’s a reasonable chance that all will be led by one driver, put with how qualifying shaped up, we could also see them split, much like Jeddah between Leclerc and Verstappen. Due to some issues in qualifying and late in FP3, some drivers are starting much further back than they likely should be. That means the back and mid pack will be very interesting depending on who gets the best starts and if drivers can figure out where to pass. In terms of the weather, FP2 matches up closer, but given the overnight rain in Miami, the conditions in FP1 will be closer to the start of the race and the green race track.
Pit Strategies
Credit to f1.com for graphic
The graphic below shows the expected tire and pit windows for the race.
Tire Options
Credit to f1.com for graphic
The graphic below shows the sets of tires each driver has available. SN = Soft New, SU = Soft Used.
Captain Picks
The drivers listed in this section can also be played in the regular driver section but they get the most benefit out of the 1.5x point difference.
Charles Leclerc — $17,100 — P1
He’s the pole-sitter and has been perhaps the most consistently fast car on the circuit. Not only has Ferrari held their own on the straights to this point in the weekend, he’s been the fastest driver in the slow-speed corners by a decent amount. If this track is as hard to overtake on as some think, he should have no problem leading the bulk of the laps. Even if it races like Jeddah, Leclerc should still be able to stay out front for a while.
Lando Norris — $12,900 — P8
Norris ran as well as P6 in practice and should have more speed in that McLaren for Sunday. He’s finished P5 and P3 in the last two races and started further back than that. He’s beaten his teammate each of the last three races as well for a nice bonus.
George Russell — $11,700 — P12
For just $2,500 more than Hamilton costs in a regular driver spot, we can get Russell as a Captain. He’s been lightning quick this weekend, running P2 in FP1 and P1 in FP2. Russell has also finished P5 or better in every race, the only driver to do that. He didn’t have the confidence in the cars handling to push it in qualifying on Saturday but if they get back to the feel of Friday, he will be a guy to watch in the race on Sunday as he moves up through the field. Mercedes has also been great with pit strategy and undercutting other teams to gain track position.
Sebastian Vettel — $5,400 — P13
Vettel has perhaps made more noise on the track this weekend for his underwear, but it doesn’t mean the speed isn’t there. He’s run as well as P5 in practice and has outrun his teammate, Lance Stroll, in all the sessions. The only reason that he’s behind Stroll in the gird is because of a slight mistake in the Chicane in Q2. Vettel has Spot vs. Grid Position upside here and can still outrun his teammate in the race, like he did at Imola where he started P13 and finished P8. A similar result should be expected this weekend.
Driver Picks
Max Verstappen — $11,800 — P3
Do we really have to say why we’re playing Verstappen? He’s fast, in a car that’s gone toe-to-toe with the Ferraris, and could’ve been on the pole had he not had an issue in Turn 6 of the flying lap in Q3. If he can challenge Leclerc early, he should be able to overtake him for the lead and has a good shot at winning. We will need laps led from him at this price but that’s not out of the question given how the cars are setup.
Lewis Hamilton — $9,200 — P6
Is this the first time that Hamilton is in the playbook? Well, the resurgent speed makes the case for why he should be included. He’s been as fast as P4 on the speed charts this weekend and even with traffic in his way still pulled off a P6 flying lap in qualifying. There’s a reasonable shot that Hamilton can beat Russell for the first time this year, though still be careful about Mercedes prioritizing strategy for Russell to protect his standing in the World Championship.
Valtteri Bottas — $7,400 — P5
Have we ever seen a Finn as happy as Bottas was out-qualifying both Mercedes cars yesterday? Bottas has been very good this year regardless of the track and has 12 or more points in three of four races. Even when he’s qualified near this spot on the grid, he’s been able to hold it. We expect the same thing to be the case this weekend. He should finish P5 or P6 and get another solid day of finish position points and a defeated teammate bonus as well.
Kevin Magnussen — $6,400 — P16
How can we not play a driver from the only American team at the first American GP of the year? Let’s also not look past the speed that K-Mag has shown this weekend either. He ran P10, P9, and then P8 in the practices respectively and was only slowed in qualifying by traffic on his flying lap. If Magnussen can move up through the field there are a fair bit of Spot vs. Grid Position points to be had here and he’s got a good shot at beating out his teammate, again.
Fernando Alonso — $5,800 — P11
Alonso has shown speed but not results to this point this year. That could change this weekend though. He’s been fast this weekend and it seems as though that he’s gotten faster the hotter it’s been outside. There’s also the fact that Ocon wrecked out in FP3 and will be starting P20. Even if he moves up several spots, which makes him a solid cheap option, he still likely finishes behind Alonso, for the first time this year.
Pierre Gasly — $5,400 — P7
He’s a guy that’s had speed this year but hasn’t always harnessed it quite as well as he should’ve. This weekend appears to be different. He’s been running consistently fast laps and to this point has avoided issues. Gasly’s two best races are when he outqualified his teammate and finished in the top-10. He already did one of those this weekend and has a great shot to do the second one as well.
Alex Albon — $3,400 — P18
Will the red hair work it’s magic again? In the last two races, he’s picked up at least seven spots on the grid and has the speed to do that again this weekend. Albon had an issue in qualifying with not warming up the tires fully and thus his slow time and bad starting spot. He ran significantly faster than P18 in practice and is 4-0 in finishing better than Latifi which is a free five points.
Constructor Picks
Red Bull and Ferrari are both easily in play, just like every week to this point. There’s no reason to do a full write-up on either of them as they are the top teams and account for all four races wins at this point. Just know that they will be prohibitive to build around with the new driver pricing.
Mercedes — $8,400
Are my eyes deceiving me or is Merc really back? It sure seems like they are. Both Hamilton and Russell ran well inside the top-eight most of practice including Russell running 1-2 in FP2 and FP1 respectively. Even with a “slow” or “bad” start to the year, they’ve still put up 34 points twice in four races, and they were this price the last time they did it.
McLaren — $7,600
The team in orange is starting to heat up posting at least 17 points in each of the last two races. This week, they seem to have pace again that could land them both in the top-10 with Norris running as high at P6 in practice. If they keep the trend going, they’re a good play in the mid-tier for constructors and pair well with Norris or Ricciardo.
Alfa Romeo — $4,800
There’s no doubt that the anchor of the team is Bottas, but that being said Zhou is capable of getting points as well. There is risk here if Zhou can’t move up from 17th in the grid but the practice speeds suggest he’s got top-10 speed. If we get several spots of Spot vs. Grid Position points that’s a bonus too.
AlphaTauri — $3,800
Yes, it’s been a slow start to the year for AlphaTauri but this could be the breakout week we’ve been waiting on. They both qualified inside the top-10 this week. While they’ve not had the most consistent speed through the three practices, there’s a reasonable shot to get the top-10 bonus and solid finish position points for cheap.
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