F1 Fantasy 2023 – All the exciting new features you need to know about this season
Formula 1’s free fantasy game is back in 2023, bigger and better than ever, with all new improvements to game play, more mini league competitions, and more prizes on offer. So, make sure to create your teams, get your private leagues set up – and most importantly, get your friends involved in what should be a brilliant year of action. Here’s everything you need to know before it all kicks off…
Key dates
The 2023 edition of F1 Fantasy is set to get underway on February 27, with fans able to create their teams and their leagues ahead of the season-opening race in Bahrain on March 4. Players will have until just before qualifying for the season-opener to set their teams, or otherwise risk facing a penalty for changing their teams post-quali.
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Luckily for all the players, ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, they will be able to do some early scouting at the same Sakhir venue when it hosts pre-season testing between February 23-25. Be sure to pay attention to which teams and drivers are looking good so you can make a fast start to the year.
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New prizes
This year, players will also get their first chance at winning some of the coveted F1 Fantasy prizes, starting with the first mini league competition of the season – which will cover the back-to-back street races in Baku and in Miami. Make sure to look out for more mini leagues throughout the year, with the dates set to be announced in due course, along with the prizes.
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There will of course be prizes for the global league, which include 2 x Champions Club tickets for a 2024 Grand Prix for the winner, two grandstand tickets for any Grand Prix on the 2024 calendar for the runner-up, with third place winning an F1 TV annual subscription (either Pro or Access depending on territory).
And there will also be prizes for the Constructors League. These have yet to be announced, but don’t forget to pick your favourite team to be in with a chance of winning.
Points, price and team changes
This year, competitors will get the opportunity to pick two constructors instead of just one, and five drivers – but the $100million budget will stay the same. However, this means that the pricing model will now become more compressed, with the difference in price between the most and the least expensive driver and constructor set to be reduced.
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There will, however, be no dynamic pricing, with price changes only set to occur once a week (at the start of the new race week).
Also new to the game this year is fastest lap points for the constructors, which will be added to the points already scored by the two drivers of that team.
Powerups
Streaks will not be a part of F1 fantasy this season, but there will be the x2 multiplier, which will now be referred to as the “DRS Boost” . There will, however, be no cost restriction this year, as previously only drivers valued at under $20m could be given the x2 multiplier (DRS Boost) – but that is not the case this year, with all drivers now eligible.
The good news for all players is that the boosters have been increased from two to six for this season. Also, the wildcard remains in play this year and so does the MegaDriver – which is now called the Extra DRS Boost.
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There will also be some new boosters this year, which include your team members not being able score negative points, while your DRS Boost will be automatically given to your drivers with most points.
Another introduction to this year’s game is called Final Fix, which will allow all the players to make one change to their team between qualifying and the race. The final new booster is called’Limitless’, and will allow you to change all your players with no cost restrictions for an entire week.
Substitutions
There will be two free substitutions each week this season, with a maximum of one unused sub being able to be carried over. It’s important to remember that those carry overs do not accumulate, so there will be a maximum of three substitutions each week – notwithstanding the use of Wildcard or Limitless boosters – which would give you a boost in your battle amongst your friends.
It is important to remember that you will be penalised minus four points if you make an additional substitution.
Badges
This season will also come with the opportunities for players to unlock badges as they achieve various milestones. However, you should be warned: some are easier to achieve than others, with competitors now able to earn badges for joining and creating private leagues with friends, creating a second team, winning streaks and much more.
With lights out in Bahrain now less than two weeks away, make sure you tell a friend to tell a friend, and sign up for this year’s all-new F1 Fantasy. And be sure to stay up to date with all the on track action so that you can pick your best teams – and keep your eyes peeled for more mini league competitions running this year.
