Hey Fantasy-GP-Team-Managers,
as the initial values for all assets are already dialed in, here is some food for thoughts:
The following tables show the Teams and the Drivers with their final FGP points of 2023 but with their current values. The PPM are the Points per Million and might give us an idea of the Bang/Buck ratio if, and only if, all of them do keep their Status Quo. So of additional importance is the question, how the assets will change their relative competitiveness regarding earning FGP-points (which quite coincidentally stronlgy correllates with their F1-points earning capabilities).
Surprisingly, Red Bull are 3rd best in PPM, only Haas and Alfa Romeo being even better. Merc, Fer and McL look far weaker in that respect.
Zhou, Albon and Bottas each looking like a Bargain, while Piastri and the Ferarri drivers look terrible.
But as stated before, in which way do we expect the competitive landscape to change? And which strategy to apply: Buy assets that maximize points gained early on, or buy undervalued assets to push your budget?
- Haas - While they also finished last in FGP last year, for most of the season they were a good option for the "cheap Team slot". But everything else than being dead last on most occasions would come as quite a surprise for me. I think the performance that can be had with that kind of team philosophy has reached a ceiling. But even if they get 20% less points than last year they might be worth it.
- Williams - I fully trust Vowles to improve the Team significantly in the long term. But by how much already next year? Also they would need a stronger second driver, so the value is a bit high for my liking.
- Racing Bulls - There is a good chance, they might improve significantly. They look like a nice asset to push the budget early on.
- Alfa Romeo - I like James Key and maybe they can keep the Status Quo. I do not really know what to make of them, as there is strong competition from the Racing Bulls and Williams.
- Alpine - I guess their initial PPM is that good, because they will have a hard time keeping their Status Quo. After all the struggle last year, Alpine might more often look who is coming for them from behind, than to whom they catch up to.
- AST - Hoping for a continuation of the 2023 form - but even then they only have one capable driver, while Fer, Mer and McL should be a stiffer competition right from the start - unlike last year. So ATM Aston is far from a no-brainer for me.
- The big four - Seems, the FGP-Committee expects Red Bull not to dominate in the same way as last year and the others to catch-up. That at least would explain to me the relatively high PPM of RBR and the relatively low PPMs for the other three.
- Generally I see drivers as a function of the performance of their cars. Only the relative competitiveness to their team-mates is of interest to me...
- Ricciardo - We should not forget, that the 2023 points for "Ricciardo" were the points of De Vries, Lawson and Ricciardo combined. I can imagine him to come close to Tsunoda. I expect him to be a rather mediocre Qualifier who should gain quite some places and FGP-points in races due to cleverness and experience. Might be a nice "cheap driver slot" pick.
- Sargeant - I give him the benefit of doubt (more experience, improved fitness). Even if he could only score half as many FGP Points as Albon, he would be worth the money.
Of course I will not tell you, what my initial team will look like
But at least I am trying to not be as tight-lipped as last year - a bit of FGP discussions could be fun. So what do you think?
