F1 Fantasy Winners and Losers: 2026 Australian Grand Prix

Winners

Mercedes

Qualifying: P1 (Russell) and P2 (Antonelli)

Race: P1 (Russell) and P2 (Antonelli)

Mercedes lived up to the pre-season hype by locking out the top two spots in both qualifying and the race, cruising to 96 fantasy points and an easy $0.3M price raise. Their next closest constructor competitor, Ferrari, finished with 69 points, almost a 30 point difference. Despite it looking like Kimi Antonelli might’ve not even been able to qualify after his crash in FP3, the 19 year old bounced back quickly to both qualify and finish in 2nd, tying his best ever results in Formula 1. Mercedes also had the fastest pitstop of the race, and they’re certainly entering this regulation set as the favorites. If this dominance continues, they might become a must-have constructor for at least the beginning of the season.

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Max Verstappen

Qualifying: P20

Race: P6

Verstappen achieved a Fantasy F1 trifecta this weekend—fastest lap, driver of the day, and a whole heap of overtakes and positions gained points in his race from 20th to 6th on the grid. Despite losing out on qualifying points after an unfortunate crash early in Q1, the Red Bull driver more than makes up for it by scoring 50 fantasy points throughout the race and brings home a solid $0.3M price gain. The RBPT-Ford engine is looking fast, if a bit unreliable, with both VCARB’s in Q3 as well– keep an eye out for the 4-time World Champion as the races unfold. He could prove to be a valuable differential play when compared to the more traditional Mercedes and Ferrari lineups.

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Arvid Lindblad

Qualifying: P9

Race: P8

The newest (and only) rookie on the F1 grid this year made a very impressive debut with both making Q3 and finishing in the points in his first ever race. In a chaotic Grand Prix where multiple experienced drivers had issues, Lindblad held it together, made some nice on track moves after an impressive start, and gained a place from his qualifying spot on debut. He’s well rewarded for his efforts with 15 fantasy points and a $0.6M price gain – teams that took a chance on this rookie can be quite pleased heading into China.

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Haas

Qualifying: P12 (Bearman) and P13 (Ocon)

Race: P7 (Bearman) and P11 (Ocon)

Haas finished one car in the points and one right outside while flying relatively under the radar all weekend, but in a race with 5+ retirements it’s a solid showing for a midfield team. They earned the second most points for a B-tier constructor this week and with a solid $0.6M price rise, they gave their teams a decent budget boost as well. The Ferrari engine that Haas uses is looking relatively reliable, and they look like they’re well poised to continue fighting at the top of the midfield.

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Gabriel Bortoleto

Qualifying: P10

Race: P9

The Brazilian driver earned Audi their first ever Q3 appearance and points as a Formula 1 engine manufacturer with a solid showing in the Australian Grand Prix. The Audi engine seems to have overperformed expectations, as Bortoleto was able to race near the top of the midfield and put in some strong overtaking maneuvers as well– he earned 9 fantasy points solely through overtake bonuses. He finished the weekend with 13 total fantasy points and a nice $0.6M price raise.

Losers

Cadillac

Qualifying: P18 (Perez) and P19 (Bottas)

Race: P16 (Perez)  and DNF (Bottas)

The new American outfit on the grid was able to finish one car in their debut race and both cars were able to complete qualifying, which honestly isn’t the worst case scenario for a brand new team. But, the -20 points from a Valtteri Bottas DNF mid race and lack of either driver in Q2 contributed to a score of -13 total fantasy F1 points and a -$0.6M price drop for next week. This team has a lot of potential, but they’re not a solid bet for Fantasy teams yet, even if their low price is attractive.

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Oscar Piastri

Qualifying: P5

Race: DNS

No Australian driver has ever podiumed at their home race, and unfortunately Piastri lost the opportunity to even attempt to break the curse when he failed to start the race when he crashed before the formation lap. He received the fantasy points for qualifying 5th, but that’s a small consolation when you take into consideration the -20 for failing to even start the race along with a hefty dose of home race heartbreak. He ended with -14 fantasy points for the week and a -$0.3M price drop going into China.

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Isack Hadjar

Qualifying: P3

Race: DNF

Isack Hadjar looked like he was set to break the much-talked about second Red Bull seat curse when he out-qualified teammate Verstappen in his first race on the senior team and started on the second row. However, an early retirement also handed him a severe -20 fantasy points after a promising start to the race. He’ll be carrying a -$0.6M price drop and -8 points going into China, but he remains by far the cheapest driver on the top 4 teams at $14.5M, which could make him a viable lineup option again in a couple of races.

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Aston Martin

Qualifying: P17 (Alonso) and No Time (Stroll)

Race: DNF (Alonso) and Not Classified (Stroll)

Honestly, Aston Martin probably could’ve been put in the losers list before the weekend started, as they’re facing major power unit and reliability issues to start off the season. The double Aston retirement was probably the most predictable on the grid, and their only fantasy points come from a couple overtakes made on track pre-retirement. They ended the first Grand Prix of the season with -38 F1 Fantasy points and a -$0.6M price drop. While their aerodynamic base might have strong potential, their PU issues for now make them an extremely poor choice for fantasy teams.

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McLaren

Qualified: P5 (Piastri) and P6 (Norris)

Race: P5 (Norris) and DNS (Piastri)

The two-time constructors champions were unable to carry that momentum into the new regulation set, as their Australian GP finish yields them by far the least amount of points for an A tier constructor and sees them as the 4th worst performing constructor overall. For the high price of $28.8M, the 19 points scored and -$0.1M price reduction won’t be worth it for fantasy teams who chose to pick the papaya squad this week. Whether they can catch up to their engine supplier, Mercedes, remains to be seen, but for right now, their price is just too high to justify their team selection.

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