Last season, Leclerc managed a P4 finish in the race with a Ferrari that was underpowered compared to this year’s version. Could he go as well this season? Well, McLaren is likely to go better than sixth and 13th this season, but it was Norris that finished out of the points. Norris had a tough time during practice but the McLaren has much more speed in reserve. The choice will come down to what you can fit into your budget.
If you still haven’t made the switch yet, getting Max Verstappen in for a set-and-forget throughout the year is the safest and most cost-effective option if you’re hoping to bag points for poles and wins.
Red Bull has a plethora of updates for this race weekend and the Dutchman will be there or thereabouts on Saturday and Sunday barring a mechanical fault.
Ones to watch
He was eventually forced to retire from the race but Sebastian Vettel had a better weekend of it at Imola despite the no points to show for his efforts. A pre-race brake-fire drama netted him a penalty, but his race pace was solid if not spectacular. Expect him to continue edging closer to the mark against team-mate Lance Stroll, but for now a watching brief is recommended.
Yuki Tsunoda’s F1 debut caught everyone’s attention but the Japanese driver followed up that promising opener with a disastrous sequel at Imola.
The AlphaTauri driver crashed in qualifying and totalled his gearbox in the process, resulting in a grid penalty. He rebounded in the race but a spin on the final race restart after overtaking Lewis Hamilton.
In the pre-race press conference, Tsunoda admitted he’d be dialling back his all-or-nothing approach due to his lack of experience racing at Portimao. He hasn’t raced in any category around the Portuguese circuit and following his qualifying crash is eager to make it to the end with a decent points haul.
Ones to avoid
The only team to be lapped twice by the end of the race at Imola, Haas drivers Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin are unlikely to be fighting other cars this weekend either. The team has made clear there are no further updates in the pipeline this season so outside of finishing position points, there isn’t much ground to be gained here.
Nicholas Latifi hasn’t out-qualified George Russell once during their time together as team-mates. The Canadian has been closer this season but isn’t the Williams driver you want if you’re hoping to bag a few extra points for starting versus finishing position.
While the Spaniard was happy with making it through his first wet F1 race since returning, Fernando Alonso is still a hefty investment for both Alpine and your Fantasy team at 15.0, he still cuts into a large portion of your funds that are better spent elsewhere. With team-mate Ocon looking the stronger of the two as well at the moment, he’s not a great pick just yet. If you are Alpine-inclined, the Frenchman is the better pick for now.
Portuguese Grand Prix picks
Drivers:
Max Verstappen (25.3)
Charles Leclerc (17.7)
Lando Norris (13.7)
Lance Stroll (13.6)
Esteban Ocon (9.6)
Team:
McLaren (18.8)