What is fantasy F1? How it works and where to play ahead of Bahrain Grand Prix

There's a few days left until the first Formula 1 race of the season: the Bahrain Grand Prix. The 2024 Formula 1 season began with testing at the Bahrain International Circuit. One week later, the 10 teams will gear up for the first Grand Prix weekend of the season.

Like major U.S. sports, Formula 1 has an extra layer of excitement for the 2024 season: fantasy sports. In 2022 alone, 29.2 million people played fantasy football as it's grown exponentially in the last decade. According to Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association data, 50.4 million adults in total played fantasy sports in the U.S. in 2022.

There's lots of options for fantasy F1 platforms in 2024. Here's what to know ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

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What is fantasy F1?

Fantasy Formula 1 is similar to fantasy football or basketball. Players can create a team made up of drivers from different teams across the grid. But unlike fantasy leagues for football or basketball, multiple players can use the same driver and team in their lineup.

How does fantasy F1 work?

The setup used by Formula 1's official fantasy league gives players seven openings on their team: five for drivers and two for teams. The site limits players to a "budget" of $100 million and they can build teams using that salary cap. Each driver and team has a specific "salary" that has to fit under the $100 million. Faster drivers and teams are more expensive and slower ones have lower salaries.

Team lineups are locked in by Thursday ahead of the start of the race weekend on Friday. This keeps players from making changes during the weekend.

Each driver and team earns points over a race weekend depending on how they perform. Qualifying results and race results award more points to the top finishers.

Players can change their lineups whenever they like on Formula 1's official fantasy league but there's a limit on how many changes they can make without losing points. Other fantasy Formula 1 platforms have limits on how often players can change or use drivers and teams. As an example, GridRival makes players "sign" a driver for up to five races. Once that duration is up, players must wait one race until adding that driver to their lineup again.

At the end of the season, the players with the most points from their lineups across the season win their league(s).

Here's what a lineup could look like:

Drivers

• Max Verstappen, Red Bull ($30 million "salary")

• Oscar Piastri, McLaren ($19 million)

• Yuki Tsunoda, Visa Cash App RB ($8 million)

• Alex Albon, Williams ($7 million)

• Pierre Gasly, Alpine ($7.8 million)

Teams

• Ferrari ($19.3 million)

• Alpine ($8.4 million)

Where can I play fantasy F1?

Formula 1's official fantasy league is one of the most popular platforms. Players can build up to three teams for the season and join leagues with their friends. The winner of the Formula 1 global fantasy league will win Paddock Club passes to two races in 2025. Prizes are not included for individual leagues.

Here are other places to play:

• GridRival

• FantasyGP

• DraftKings

2024 Bahrain Grand Prix: How to watch and odds for race winner

When: February 29-March 2

Where: Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain

Cable: ESPN

Streaming: F1TV, ESPN+, FuboTV

How to watch: Catch the Bahrain Grand Prix and more with a Fubo subscription

Odds from BetMGM as of Saturday.

• Max Verstappen (-275)

• Charles Leclerc (+900)

• Sergio Perez (+1200)

• Lewis Hamilton (+1400)

• George Russell (+1400)

• Carlos Sainz Jr. (+1600)

• Lando Norris (+2500)

• Fernando Alonso (+2500)

• Oscar Piastri (+5000)

• Lance Stroll (+15000)

• Yuki Tsunoda (+25000)

• Daniel Ricciardo (+25000)

• Alexander Albon (+40000)

• Pierre Gasly (+50000)

• Esteban Ocon (+50000)

• Valtteri Bottas (+75000)

• Logan Sargeant (+100000)

• Guanyu Zhou (+100000)

• Nico Hulkenberg (+100000)

• Kevin Magnussen (+100000)

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is fantasy F1? Here's what to know ahead of the Bahrain GP