Big Points Fantasy Roundup: Double Delight for Joel

Belgium was a happy hunting ground for Joel who emerged victorious in the Big Points OG and the new Head-to-Head (H2H) leagues. Scores of 29 and 104 were enough to bump the Aussie up to 3rd in the OG Standings and set the pace in the new H2H format, edging out JT by two points.

OG League

After a dramatic Belgian Grand Prix which saw George Russell’s first lap retirement trigger a scramble amongst constructors to see who they had in 9th and 10th positions, Franco Colapinto was the beneficiary and in finishing 10th, bagged Joel more big points after the Argentine also came in clutch in Barcelona to benefit from Antonelli’s late retirement.

In Spa-Francorchamps, the podium was completed by Offer and Andy, despite Andy’s efforts in being the only constructor to correctly call Lando Norris securing the fastest lap. 7th position also brought the championship leader a welcome haul of points to rise back up to the sharp end of the grid following a dismal outing in Silverstone.

And Offer ensured that the current top three in the standings filled the Belgian podium owing mainly to Arvid Lindblad’s drive to a solid 9th place to bag big points in his attempts to close the gap to Andy at the top.

10 points for Lindblad’s 9th position was also gratefully accepted by Lawrence, Dom, Mark, and Tyler with the quartet thankful for Gabriel Bortoleto’s efforts in keeping the Racing Bulls driver behind him in the closing stages of the race after the Brazilian jumped the Brit under the Virtual Safety Car (VSC).

Across the rest of the grid, Antonelli’s superb drive ensured that 100% of the grid got at least one correct call, the only time that has happened this season. In Australia, 19 of the 20 constructors had Russell storming to victory, with Lawrence preventing the clean sweep. But further down the grid, it was only Gray that correctly calculated Isack Hadjar’s drive from the back of the grid to 6th.

Also aided by the VSC, the Red Bull driver executed a rather unusual strategy by pitting twice in the first two laps after Russell brought out the full safety car by beaching his W17 after a clash with Lewis Hamilton. And like Bortoleto, Hadjar was able to hold off Norris to the dismay of 9 constructors that had the Brit performing his own comeback drive from 13th into 6th.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/F1Technical/comments/wa5les/in_hungary_2021_lewis_was_the_only_car_on_the/

Glory Cup Winner: Andy

As well as securing his fourth podium of the season, Andy also lifted the inaugural Glory Cup after seeing off the challenge from Mark to win 22-18. The Scotsman was tested by Richard in Monaco (8-6), before finding performance to blast past Geraldine in Austria (32-12).

Erik pushed Andy right to the chequered flag in Silverstone (7-6), missing out by just one second, before Andy emerged victorious in Belgium. Mark picked up a virtual runner up medal with Sam completing the top three by edging Erik on points scored in the semi finals.

H2H League

Belgium saw the unveiling of the new Big Points Fantasy format which is set to cause much excitement between now and the end of the 2026 season and beyond. With points awarded, or deducted, for three pre-selected drivers and their overtakes or slides down the grid during the race along with a fresh Proximity Picks points system and enhanced race call points, Joel (104) and JT (102) set the running by vaulting into triple figures.

With all 12 constructors awarded The Rookie trophy to mark the inaugural H2H race, it was only Gus who was required to extend his stay in the trophy room after going Against the Grain by correctly predicting Lindblad to finish in 9th.  Other notable shouts go out to JT and Middler who were praying post race that Hamilton would retain his 4th place finish after an unsafe release left the seven-time world champion sweating over another penalty which could have pushed the Brit down to 5th.

With a paddock full of points up for grabs each race, there will be plenty of Movers across the standings in Hungary with the next mouth-watering duels already announced. There is a local derby to look forward to with Richard looking to take bragging rights in Berlin, while Middler and Sam take their OG rivalry into the H2H arena.

Hamilton Looking to Ignite Title Charge in Hungary

Moving on from the high-speed layout of Spa-Francorchamps, cornering ability will be put to the test in Budapest, which could play right into the hands of Ferrari. For Hamilton, currently second in the driver’s championship, the Brit will be hoping to be all alone at the front of the pack, as opposed to being all alone on the grid like in 2021.

The bizarre scenario when every other driver dived into the pitlane apart from race leader after the classic changing of Budapest conditions, Hamilton sitting alone on the grid is one of the iconic images from the Hungarian Grand Prix in recent years. With Mercedes dominating most circuits so far, the Hungaroring offers other teams the chance to negate the Mercedes power unit advantage with only the main straight offering an opportunity to show off the full ability of the PU.

The narrow nature of the Hungaroring provides plenty of braking points to ensure energy levels are at their maximum for the main overtaking opportunity down the main straight. However, we have seen how creative drivers are getting with overtakes and audacious attempts cannot be ruled out at any part of the track.

45 points separate Hamilton and Antonelli, with Russell a further five points back. And with only 73 points between Mercedes and Ferrari in the constructors’ standings, Hamilton and the Scuderia will be hoping for more Mercedes misfortune to bridge the gap. Last time out in Belgium, it was Charles Leclerc who was the leading Ferrari, backing up his recent resurgence with a solid 2nd place to make it back-to-back podiums after his win in Silverstone.

Constructors in the Big Points Fantasy game will be eyeing up the midfield battle where the big points are really scored. Racing Bulls and Alpine are locked on 61 points, but it was Bortoleto who bagged a fine 6th place last season. While Audi and Haas will also look to get in the big points mix, the eyes of F1 fans will be on Aston Martin’s timings over the weekend as the team unveil a significant upgrade package in the hope of clawing their way back up the grid. And if we get a repeat of 2021, someone from the midfield could claim a shock win much like Esteban Ocon did in his Alpine five years ago.

But for Hamilton, Budapest represents a big opportunity to show the strengths of the Ferrari and cut the gap to Antonelli. A win in Hungary would fully ignite a championship charge and provide positive momentum heading into the summer shutdown. We are back to the track in Budapest for one last time before the break.