F1 FANTASY: Strategist Selection – What’s the best line-up for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix?

After the roar of Monza, Formula 1 returns to the streets of Baku – a venue where sheer speed meets tight walls. With unforgiving corners and high risk, high reward overtaking zones, Azerbaijan presents both similarity and stark contrast to the Temple of Speed.

So, who’s equipped to thrive in F1 Fantasy? The Baku City Circuit presents one of the most unpredictable challenges of the year, with its mix of low-speed corners and one of the longest straights in F1. Our F1 Fantasy Strategist takes stock of the most reliable and opportunistic assets that could shape your fantasy score this weekend.

It’s never too late to join the free-to-play game and compete for the great prizes on offer every race week! New players will need to select five drivers and two constructors within the starting cost cap of $100 million.

Be sure to join the Street Showdown for a two-race mini league across Azerbaijan and Singapore too. There are exciting new prizes on offer, including an Red Bull replica drivers race suit! Keep your eyes peeled for exciting mini leagues opening later in the F1 Fantasy season too, providing you with even more opportunities to play and win.

Ahead of every Grand Prix weekend, our F1 Fantasy Strategist evaluates seven in-game assets – five drivers and two teams – that can help you succeed in F1 Fantasy, whether that’s eking out every point or maximising your budget.

With Baku’s combination of high speeds and tight walls (especially through the castle section), patience and timing are everything. Overtaking opportunities down the kilometre-long main straight can shuffle the order quickly, while Safety Cars are always a factor – making reliable drivers and strong constructors even more crucial.

Catch up on the Italian Grand Prix highlights below and keep reading for more tips. Remember to lock in your teams before the Qualifying starts on Saturday, September 20 at 1600 local time (1200 UTC).

Lando Norris ($31.2m)

Lando Norris is not a pick for the risk-averse F1 Fantasy manager.

The McLaren racer has two retirements (Montreal and Zandvoort) in the last seven races, but has also banked scores of 30+ fantasy points in each of the other five – no other driver has more than four in that period.

The nine-time race winner drove from P15 to P4 in 2024, on his way to a 38-point performance and the fastest lap last time out in Baku.

Norris leads all drivers with the highest number of fastest laps (six) in 2025, worth 10 points in F1 Fantasy. If you’re confident Norris can win in Baku, he represents an incredibly high points ceiling.

Alex Albon ($12.4m)

It’s hard to ignore the rich vein of form Alex Albon is currently in.

The Thai driver secured his fifth-consecutive double-digit F1 Fantasy score on his way to P7 in Monza – his 11th points finish in 16 races this season for the Grove-based team.

Since Silverstone, Albon has been the fifth-highest scoring driver in F1 Fantasy, averaging 16.0 points and outscoring the likes of more expensive assets Charles Leclerc ($23.3m) and Lewis Hamilton ($23.2m) during that time.

If Williams can deliver more straight-line performance in Baku, Albon will be worth owning this weekend.

Oliver Bearman ($6.7m)

Oliver Bearman continues to deliver as a consistent beacon of F1 Fantasy production in 2025.

Fascinatingly, the British driver stood in at Baku for former Haas stalwart Kevin Magnussen in 2024, recording six overtakes and finishing P10 in only his second Formula 1 race at the time.

This year, the rookie leads all drivers in overtakes per race (4.4) and is second for positions gained per race (3.8).

Baku is a track that presents several excellent overtaking opportunities, which makes Bearman worthy of serious consideration at this circuit.

Isack Hadjar ($6.3m)

Isack Hadjar is back on the Strategist’s watchlist for another week after recent strong results for Racing Bulls.

Over the last three races, the French driver averages 16.3 fantasy points – the sixth-best average on the grid in that window.

He has been the best-value asset in the game from Hungary onwards, recording 3.09 points for every $1 million spent, and could still rise $0.6m in value even if he received the dreaded -20 point penalty for a DNF.

Hadjar’s friendly price point also facilitates upgrades to other parts of your team. If you’re targeting premium assets in Baku such as McLaren and Ferrari, Hadjar helps enable that.

Pierre Gasly ($4.5m)

Pierre Gasly has had something of an underwhelming season in 2025 and has been in the F1 Fantasy wilderness as a result – but this could change in Azerbaijan.

The 29-year-old secured P3 and P5 results in 2021 and 2022 respectively, which may provide a much-needed confidence boost to his chances this weekend.

The Alpine racer has hit the $4.5m price floor, meaning he can go no lower in value and is a safe pair of hands around a track that has claimed many driver retirements over the years.

Gasly has four double-digit F1 Fantasy scores to his name this season, so the potential to score well is certainly there.

Other drivers to monitor: Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc

McLaren ($34.8m)

McLaren are unstoppable right now in F1 Fantasy – there is no other way to put it.

After a below-average 52 points in Zandvoort, the Woking-based team bounced back in Monza to record their fifth score of 90+ points in the last six race weekends.

Surprisingly, McLaren leaned heavily on their success in the pit box. After a slow start to the season for scoring points from fast pit stops (the team only scored 15 points once in the first 13 races in this scoring category), McLaren have since recorded 25-point pit stop bonuses in two of the last three race weekends.

It’s impossible to ignore McLaren as a consistent source of points and Baku will be no different.

Red Bull ($29.0m)

Red Bull have flown under the radar as an F1 Fantasy asset lately, but they might have turned a corner in Monza.

Max Verstappen recorded his third win of the season, which contributed to the team’s best score in F1 Fantasy since they last set foot in Italy (Imola 2025 – 71 points).

Over the last five races, Red Bull also lead all teams for fast pit stop points, averaging 12.4 per race in that span.

Verstappen has finished on the podium twice in his last three visits to Baku and Red Bull have won three of the last four Grands Prix in Azerbaijan. If Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda look competitive in practice, Red Bull could be a convincing differential option this weekend.

Other constructors to monitor: Ferrari, Williams

As always, be sure to keep a close eye on the early sessions to help guide your decisions for drivers and teams in the lead up to the team lock deadline.