Making Fantasy Formula 1 Better
By Mark Brenneman on March 31, 2024
Like many other Americans, Drive To Survive sparked my interest in Formula 1. Before the Netflix series, I followed Formula 1 at a distance because of my brother, but the drama and narrative storytelling of Drive To Survive fanned the flame. Since seeing the show on Netflix, I have been hooked.
As my interest in Formula 1 grew, I wanted to play fantasy Formula 1. So, a few years ago, I tried the official Fantasy Formula 1 game. I quickly learned the game is very complicated for a casual fan. I had to select five drivers and two teams. The points calculation is also hard to follow. After a few weeks of tracking my points and updating my roster, I lost interest.
So, I decided to make a better Formula 1 fantasy game.
I always liked the concept of an NFL Survivor League. I loved the simplicity of selecting a single team every week. Why couldn't that type of game be used in Formula 1?
After discussing the concept with my brother, we settled on a simple premise: Pick one driver or team per race weekend. You score however many points they score that weekend (using the F1 point system). The caveat is that you can't pick the same driver or team twice in a season. Pitlane Picks was born.
In the first year, I ran Pitlane Picks from a spreadsheet. The players submitted a Google Form to submit their weekly picks. We had a blast.
Each pick felt important since you could not pick that driver or team again that season. You had to ensure Max Verstappen scored as many points as possible the week you picked him.
Since that first year, Pitlane Picks has grown from a spreadsheet to a website to a mobile app. Anyone can now create their own group. You can get the app at pitlanepicks.com.
