Fantasy F1

... or maybe not! Marussia have changed their minds and Chilton is back in.


Picks for Belgium
Almonaster : Button, Kvyat *
Boreal Tundra : Perez *, Bianchi
Matilda Love : Vettel *, Vergne *
Wopruthien : Magnussen *, Kvyat
Hydroponic Nation : Lotterer †, Chilton †*
The Bruce : Lotterer †, Raikkonen †
Alunya : Lotterer †, Grosjean †*
WFA 19 : Lotterer †, Grosjean †*

† Driver assigned
* Driver has been picked twice and may not be picked again by that player.
 
Race result and points

1) - Daniel Ricciardo : 25
2) - Nico Rosberg : 18
3) - Valtteri Bottas : 15
4) - Kimi Raikkonen : 12
5) - Sebastian Vettel : 10
6) - Kevin Magnussen : 8
7) - Jenson Button : 6
8) - Fernando Alonso : 4
9) - Sergio Perez : 2
10) - Daniil Kvyat : 1
11) - Nico Hulkenberg
12) - Jean-Eric Vergne
13) - Felipe Massa
14) - Adrian Sutil
15) - Esteban Gutierrez
16) - Max Chilton
17) - Marcus Ericsson
18) - Jules Bianchi
19) - Lewis Hamilton (ret)
20) - Romain Grosjean (ret)
21) - Pastor Maldonado (ret)
22) - Andre Lotterer (ret)

Nico Rosberg clipped Hamilton early on, costing himself a damaged nosecone and giving Hamilton a puncture which effectively took him out of the race. I wouldn't want to get between those two at the debrief. Williams were expected to do well, and Bottas pushed hard throughout to gain a well deserved 3rd place. McLaren did moderately well, with Magnussen and Button racing each other throughout, and the team passing Force India in the constructors' championship. Kimi Raikkonen showed a welcome return to form to claim 4th, while Alonso had a bit of a torrid time and finally settled for 8th.

The real class act was Daniel Ricciardo. Red bull had opted for a low-downforce setup which penalized them during qualifying but gave them better straight-line speed in the race. Recent world champion Vettel came in 5th, which was about what might have been expected, but Ricciardo took every opportunity that came his way, and pulled off an outstanding win.


Fantasy League Standings
Hydroponic Nation : 179
Wopruthien : 178
Almonaster : 160
Boreal Tundra : 146
Matilda Love : 141
Alunya : 49
The Bruce : 29
WFA19 : 24

Wopruthien gains more ground, with Almonaster falling back slightly in 3rd. Matilda Love closes in on Boreal Tundra in the mid-table battle. The Bruce picks up a place from a lucky default pick.
 
Note: Magnussen has been penalized 5 places for forcing Alonso to run wide. As with Ricciardo's disqualification at the start of the season this does not affect the Fantasy League scores.

5) The players win points based on the classification of 'their' drivers at the end of the race as per the table above. Any subsequent penalties or disqualifications are not applied to the fantasy league score.
Click to expand...
 
Picks for Italy
Almonaster : Button *, Perez
Boreal Tundra : Maldonado *, Raikkonen
Matilda Love : Alonso *, Button *
Wopruthien : Alonso *, Kvyat *
Hydroponic Nation : Magnussen, Bottas *
The Bruce : Perez †, Magnussen †
Alunya : Perez †, Vergne †
WFA 19 : Perez †, Vergne †*

† Driver assigned
* Driver has been picked twice and may not be picked again by that player.
 
Hamilton had a poor start, apparently suffering problems with his energy recovery system, and dropped to 4th as Magnussen charged up to 2nd. Hamilton worked his way back up to 2nd, and put enough pressure on Rosberg to cause a mistake that allowed Hamilton to regain the lead. Meanwhile Alonso had a rare retirement. There were some close-fought battles throughout the field, with Massa, Perez, and particularly Ricciardo doing well.

Race result and points
1 )- L Hamilton : 25
2 )- N Rosberg : 18
3 )- F Massa : 15
4 )- V Bottas : 12
5 )- D Ricciardo : 10
6 )- S Vettel : 8
7 )- K Magnussen : 6 **
8 )- S Perez : 4
9 )- J Button : 2
10 )- K Raikkonen : 1
11 )- D Kvyat
12 )- N Hulkenberg
13 )- J Vergne
14 )- P Maldonado
15 )- A Sutil
16 )- R Grosjean
17 )- K Kobayashi
18 )- J Bianchi
19 )- E Gutierrez
20 )- M Ericsson
21 )- F Alonso (ret.)
22 )- M Chilton (ret.)

** Magnussen incurred a 5-second stop-and-go penalty which drops his official result to 10th, but finished 7th on the track. In line with previous rulings, the track position stands.

Request for comment In previous years a stop-and-go had to be served during the race, and would have affected the result. This year, it can be taken at the end of the race. This situation lies outwith my original intent for the rule, which was to deal with penalties imposed after the race. Should we change the Fantasy F1 rules to include in-race penalties, are you happy with the current rule, or would you like a change but think it might be too hard to draw the line? Please let me know.


Fantasy League Standings
Hydroponic Nation : 197
Wopruthien : 178
Almonaster : 166
Boreal Tundra : 147
Matilda Love : 143
Alunya : 53
The Bruce : 39
WFA19 : 28

Hydroponic nation extends his lead at the top. There is little change in the middle of the table, with Almonaster gaining slightly. The Bruce and WFA19 benefit from the Magnussen decision.
 
Next race will be at Singapore - picks by Friday as usual, but please ensure you remember the time zone difference. I won't be too strict, but the cut-off is officially 5 hours after 2nd practice, or around 8:30pm BST.
 
Picks for Singapore

Almonaster : Perez *, Grosjean
Boreal Tundra : Kobayashi †*, Chilton †
Matilda Love : Ricciardo *, Kvyat *
Wopruthien : Raikkonen *, Vettel
Hydroponic Nation : Hulkenberg *, Button *
The Bruce : Perez *†, Magnussen *†
Alunya : Vergne *†, Magnussen †
WFA 19 : Perez *†, Magnussen *†

† Driver assigned
* Driver has been picked twice and may not be picked again by that player.
 
Race result and points

1) L Hamilton : 25
2) S Vettel : 18
3) D Ricciardo : 15
4) F Alonso : 12
5) F Massa : 10
6) J Vergne : 8
7) S Perez : 6
8) K Raikkonen : 4
9) N Hulkenberg : 2
10) K Magnussen : 1
11) V Bottas
12) P Maldonado
13) R Grosjean
14) D Kvyat
15) M Ericsson
16) J Bianchi
17) M Chilton
18) J Button (ret.)
19) A Sutil (ret.)
20) E Gutierrez (ret.)
21) N Rosberg (ret.)
22) K Kobayashi (ret.)
Vergne had a 5 second penalty at the end of the race, but it did not affect the positions.

For a change it was Rosberg who suffered from reliability issues at Mercedes, while Hamilton took full advantage and brought home 1st place to lead the drivers' championship by a slender 3 points. The Red Bull drivers had to fight hard to keep Ferrari's Alonso off the podium, with Vettel showing an overdue return to form. Massa did well on a track which did not suit the Williams. Vergne had an awesome drive to finish sixth, despite a stop-go penalty.


Fantasy League standings
Wopruthien : 200
Hydroponic Nation : 199
Almonaster : 172
Matilda Love : 158
Boreal Tundra : 147
Alunya : 62
The Bruce : 46
WFA19 : 35

Wopruthien retakes the lead by a single point, having played Vettel on his best result this season. Alynya lucks out on a great performance by Vergne.
 
Japanese GP at Suzuka coming up this weekend. This one is a daytime race, and even earlier on the time zones, so picks by Thursday night/ Friday morning US time, please.
 
Picks for Japan
Almonaster : Sutil , Magnussen *
Boreal Tundra : Chilton *†, Guttierez †
Matilda Love : Chilton †, Kobayashi †
Wopruthien : Maldonado, Sutil
Hydroponic Nation : Maldonado *†, Sutil †
The Bruce : Raikkonen *†, Massa†
Alunya : Raikkonen †, Magnussen *†
WFA 19 : Raikkonen *†, Magnussen *†

†Driver assigned
*Driver has been picked twice and may not be picked again by that player.
 
Race result and points
1) - Lewis Hamilton - 25
2) - Nico Rosberg - 18
3) - Sebastian Vettel - 15
4) - Daniel Ricciardo - 12
5) - Jenson Button - 10
6) - Valtteri Bottas - 8
7) - Felipe Massa - 6
8) - Nico Hulkenberg - 4
9) - Jean-Eric Vergne - 2
10) - Sergio Perez - 1
11) - Daniil Kvyat
12) - Kimi Raikkonen
13) - Esteban Gutierrez
14) - Kevin Magnussen
15) - Romain Grosjean
16) - Pastor Maldonado
17) - Marcus Ericsson
18) - Max Chilton
19) - Kamui Kobayashi
20) - Jules Bianchi
21) - Adrian Sutil
22) - Fernando Alonso

The race started behind the safety car due to torrential rain. After two laps it was red flagged, when it was clear that the rain would continue for a while. It was re-started, again behind the safety car for several laps. Alonso's car suffered an electrical failure, continuing the run of trouble for Ferrari. Once full racing resumed, Button read the conditions well and made an early switch from full wet to intermediate tyres, and ended up in third place after everyone else had followed suit. The Red Bulls were impressive in the wet, passing the Williams cars and closing in on Button.
Meanwhile, Hamilton had been closing in on Rosberg, and finally overtook him mid-way through the race. The Red Bulls slowly caught and passed Button, with Vettel looking good for a podium finish until a late pit stop gifted third place to Ricciardo.

The rain resumed, and the safety car came out again following a crash by Adrian Sutil. Jules Bianchi then lost control in the same section and crashed into one of the recovery vehicles. The race was then abandoned. Bianchi was seriously injured, but is now said to be stable after surgery.

In other F1 News, Vettel announced that he will leave Red Bull next year, with Danil Kvyat due to replace him. Alonso will leave Ferrari, and is expected to be joining McLaren. Vettel is his likely replacement.

Fantasy League standings
Wopruthien : 200
Hydroponic Nation : 199
Almonaster : 172
Matilda Love : 158
Boreal Tundra : 147
Alunya : 62
The Bruce : 52
WFA19 : 35

With very few good picks left, the action is winding down. The only player to score was The Bruce, from his assigned driver Massa.
 
Picks for Russia
Almonaster : Chilton, Sutil *
Boreal Tundra : Ericsson †, Guttierez *†
Matilda Love : Chilton †*, Kobayashi *†
Wopruthien : Guttierez, Grosjean *
Hydroponic Nation : Raikkonen, Massa *
The Bruce : Hulkenberg †, Button †
Alunya : Massa †, Perez *†
WFA 19 : Massa †, Hulkenberg †

†Driver assigned
*Driver has been picked twice and may not be picked again by that player.
 
Race result and points
1 )- Lewis Hamilton : 25
2 )- Nico Rosberg : 18
3 )- Valtteri Bottas : 15
4 )- Jenson Button : 12
5 )- Kevin Magnussen : 10
6 )- Fernando Alonso : 8
7 )- Daniel Ricciardo : 6
8 )- Sebastian Vettel : 4
9 )- Kimi Raikkonen : 2
10 )- Sergio Perez : 1
11 )- Felipe Massa
12 )- Nico Hulkenberg
13 )- Jean-Eric Vergne
14 )- Daniil Kvyat
15 )- Esteban Gutierrez
16 )- Adrian Sutil
17 )- Romain Grosjean
18 )- Pastor Maldonado
19 )- Marcus Ericsson
20 )- Kamui Kobayashi (ret)
21 )- Max Chilton (ret)

A relatively quiet race. Rosberg over-reached near the start to pass Hamilton, but locked up and flat-spotted his tyres. When he re-joined with replacements it was near the back of the field. He managed to make those tyres last for the whole race, and ended up in second. Bottas pushed him hard, and ended up with a well-deserved third. Meanwhile Hamilton cruised serenely on, leading all the way to the finish. In mid field there was a little action, but no real drama. Button had a strong run, and comfortably beat his team-mate for fourth. Alonso took sixth ahead of the Red Bulls of Ricciardo and Vettel, with Raikkonen claiming the final point.


Several tributes to Jules Bianchi were in evidence. He remains in "critical but stable" condition.There is an ongoing debate over possible safety improvements to prevent a similar incident in the future.

Mercedes have now clinched the Constructors' championship. Hamilton leads the drivers' standings by 17 points with 3 races to go. The next race will be at Austin in 3 weeks time.


Fantasy league standings
Hydroponic Nation : 201
Wopruthien : 200
Almonaster : 172
Matilda Love : 158
Boreal Tundra : 147
The Bruce : 64
Alunya : 63
WFA19 : 35

The Bruce lucks out again with his assigned drivers and leapfrogs Alunya. Hydroponic nation scrapes a couple of points from Raikkonen to re-take the lead.
 
The US Grand Prix at Austin is coming up this weekend. Please remember to post your picks by Friday while you prepare for the Zombie invasion.
 
Apologies for the late post - I was Zombie hunting in TNP.

Picks for USA
Almonaster - Hulkenberg *, Gutierrez *
Boreal Tundra - Sutil †, Kvyat *†
Matilda Love - Maldonado †, Gutierrez †
Wopruthien - Sutil *, Gutierrez *
Hydroponic Nation - Alonso *, Raikkonen *
The Bruce - Hulkenberg *†, Massa *†
Alunya - Raikkonen *†, Massa *†
WFA19 - Hulkenberg *†, Massa *†

* Driver has been picked twice and may not be picked again.
† Assigned driver.

Notice of rules tweak With 2 teams dropping out, people might have been forced to use picks they would rather save. The non-running teams may be picked, but will yield no points. Sorry I didn't clock that in time to allow it for this race.

Also a reminder: there will be no double points for the last race in the fantasy league.
 
Race result and points
1 ) Hamilton : 25
2 ) Rosberg : 18
3 ) Ricciardo : 15
4 ) Massa : 12
5 ) Bottas : 10
6 ) Alonso : 8
7 ) Vettel : 6
8 ) Magnussen : 4
9 ) Vergne : 2
10 ) Maldonado : 1
11 ) Grosjean
12 ) Button
13 ) Raikkonen
14 ) Gutierrez
15 ) Kvyat
16 ) Hulkenberg(ret)
17 ) Perez(ret)
18 ) Sutil(ret)

Hamilton started second after some technical issues in qualifyling, but was hard on Rosberg's heels from the start. After the first round of pit stops, their positions remained unchanged, but in lap 24 Hamilton stole the corner at turn 12, and Rosberg could not regain the place. Meanwhile Red Bull had a good drive with Ricciardo impressing again to claim 3rd from the Williams duo, and Vettel fighting through from last place (due to a penalty) to claim 7th. There was a lot of action in the rest of the field, with every driver who finished having been in the points at one time or another. An early incident involving Perez, Sutil and Raikkonen was costly for all 3, with Sutil out immediately, Perez later, and Raikkonen somewhat off the pace for the rest of the race.


Fantasy League standings
Hydroponic Nation209
Wopruthien200
Almonaster172
Matilda Love159
Boreal Tundra147
The Bruce76
Alunya75
WFA1947

Hydroponic Nation consolidates his lead at the top, and with the picks remaining is unlikely to lose. Third place is still up for grabs as both Matilda Love and Boreal Tundra have some competitive choices available. The tail-enders all picked up points from Massa this time, so the order remains unchanged.
 
Picks for Brazil
Almonaster : (Ericsson), Maldonado *
Boreal Tundra : Sutil *†, Grosjean †
Matilda Love : Sutil †, Gutierrez *†
Wopruthien : Maldonado *, Vettel *
Hydroponic Nation : Vergne, Magnussen *
The Bruce : Alonso †, Button *†
Alunya : Hukenberg †, Button †
WFA 19 : Alonso †, Button †

†Driver assigned
*Driver has been picked twice and may not be picked again by that player.
 
First off, apologies for the lateness of this post. I lost web access on Sunday and just got it back a few hours ago. I missed the race, too :( , so no race report. The final GP of the season will be in Abu Dhabi on 21-23 Nov.

Race results and points
1 ) Nico Rosberg : 25
2 ) Lewis Hamilton : 18
3 ) Felipe Massa : 15
4 ) Jenson Button : 12
5 ) Sebastian Vettel : 10
6 ) Fernando Alonso : 8
7 ) Kimi Raikkonen : 6
8 ) Nico Hulkenberg : 4
9 ) Kevin Magnussen : 2
10 ) Valtteri Bottas : 1
11 ) Daniil Kvyat
12 ) Pastor Maldonado
13 ) Jean-Eric Vergne
14 ) Esteban Gutierrez
15 ) Sergio Perez
16 ) Adrian Sutil
17 ) Romain Grosjean (ret)
18 ) Daniel Ricciardo (ret)

Fantasy League standings
Hydroponic Nation : 211
Wopruthien : 210
Almonaster : 172
Matilda Love : 159
Boreal Tundra : 147
The Bruce : 96
Alunya : 91
WFA19 : 67

It's very close at the top. Wopruthien did a good job of closing the gap but is now out of meaningful picks, so Hydroponic Nation will become our champion. Matilda Love has both Mercedes drivers available, so should be able to take third unless Vettel pulls out all the stops for me.

I'd be interested to hear any comments people may have on how the game went, and any suggestions for improving the format next year. Post them here, TG Almonaster Nuevo, or PM me on the Canada Forum.
 
For those who haven't posted yet - final picks of the season are due in 20 hours time.

F1 news
It's unlikely to affect anyone's choices, but Caterham are back in for Abu Dhabi, with Kobayashi being joined by Will Stevens. Marussia are out.
 
Picks for Abu Dhabi

Almonaster : Grosjean *, Vettel *
Boreal Tundra : Stevens †, Grosjean *†
Matilda Love : Rosberg *, Hamilton *
Wopruthien : Kobayashi , Stevens
Hydroponic Nation : Kvyat, Vergne *
The Bruce : Stevens †, Bottas †
Alunya : Stevens †, Hukenberg *†
WFA 19 : Stevens †, Button *†

†Driver assigned
*Driver has been picked twice and may not be picked again by that player.
 
Race results and points
1 ) Lewis Hamilton : 25
2 ) Felipe Massa : 18
3 ) Valtteri Bottas : 15
4 ) Daniel Ricciardo : 12
5 ) Jenson Button : 10
6 ) Nico Hulkenberg : 8
7 ) Sergio Perez : 6
8 ) Sebastian Vettel : 4
9 ) Fernando Alonso : 2
10 ) Kimi Raikkonen : 1
11 ) Kevin Magnussen
12 ) Jean-Eric Vergne
13 ) Romain Grosjean
14 ) Nico Rosberg
15 ) Esteban Gutierrez
16 ) Adrian Sutil
17 ) Will Stevens
18 ) Kamui Kobayashi (ret)
19 ) Pastor Maldonado (ret)
20 ) Daniil Kvyat (ret)

Red Bull were penalized for a breach of the technical regulations, which meant that Ricciardo and Vettel started from the pit lane. Both did well, with Ricciardo in particular carving through the traffic to finish 4th. Button had a strong drive, too, enough to keep McLaren ahead of Force India in the Contructors' championship.
Rosberg had problems getting away cleanly, whereas Hamilton got a great start, and promptly zoomed into the lead. Rosberg kept in touch for the first half of the race, but then developed problems with the Energy Recovery System on his car. He struggled on, but was gradually overtaken by the Williams, then Ricciardo, then Button... . His car developed further faults, and he was clearly out of contention. The Mercedes team asked him to come in to the garage and end it, but he preferred to finish the race, which was a popular decision with the fans. Meanwhile Hamilton's car had been put in to a safe mode to try and avoid similar problems. This slowed him to the point where Massa was able to wind him in. At the end, though, Hamilton crossed the line 2.5 seconds ahead to claim his second Drivers' championship.


Fantasy League standings
Hydroponic Nation : 211
Wopruthien : 210
Matilda Love : 184
Almonaster : 176
Boreal Tundra : 147
The Bruce : 111
Alunya : 99
WFA19 : 77

It couldn't be closer at the top! Congratulations to Hydroponic Nation for becoming our inaugural champion, and to Wopruthien for pushing him all the way. Matilda Love picks up enough from Hamilton's win to push Almonaster out of third spot.
 
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