F1 DFS Picks, Lineup & Strategy for Azerbaijan Grand Prix

• George Russell starts on pole with a clear path to a big fantasy score, while teammate Kimi Antonelli faces a recovery drive from 16th
• Our captain Sergio Perez has won twice in Baku and took a three-place penalty that cost him zero grid spots, making the rest of this lineup possible
• Below, see our F1 DFS picks, lineup, and strategy for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

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Baku has already done its part to make this weekend interesting. The pole sitter put more than eight tenths of a second between himself and the rest of the field, then watched his teammate hit the wall in Q1. A former winner qualified eighth. Another driver made Q3 only to collect a grid penalty. That is a lot to sort through before anyone reaches Turn 1.

Practice made the picture even more interesting. One team has looked like the clear favorite, but several drivers starting outside the first few rows showed better pace than their grid spots suggest. We also have an unusually appealing salary-saving option at the back, where a three-place penalty somehow cost a driver exactly zero starting positions. Baku found a way to make that possible.

Did we tease the lineup properly? Are you intrigued? Good. Let’s get to it.

F1 DFS Lineup for Baku

DraftKings salaries as of race week. Build your Azerbaijan Grand Prix F1 DFS lineup at the best DFS apps before lights out in Baku.

Sergio Perez (Captain) ($5,100) | Starting Position: 20th

Perez has won twice in Baku. We are not asking him to make it three in a Cadillac, pinky promise.

The immediate DFS case is his teammate matchup with Valtteri Bottas. Cadillac brought small aerodynamic upgrades to Baku and fitted Perez’s car with a new-spec Ferrari power unit. Perez then finished 17th and 13th in Thursday’s practice sessions while Bottas was 22nd and 19th. Our sheet projects Perez at 19.90 overall and Bottas at 20.28. It is a small advantage, but at this salary, small advantages matter.

Perez received a three-place grid penalty after qualifying 20th, and still starts 20th. Baku handed out a punishment and apparently couldn’t find anywhere to put it.

He has room to move forward, though. A clean finish, a few places gained and a win over Bottas would make this captain selection work without requiring Perez to perform a Baku miracle. His price is what lets us spend heavily elsewhere.

George Russell ($12,000) | Starting Position: 1st

Russell has been the class of the weekend. He led FP1 and FP2, finished second in FP3 and took pole by a remarkable 0.837 seconds over Charles Leclerc. Our model gives him a 2.47 overall rating, the best projected finishing position on the sheet.

Kimi Antonelli was quick in practice, so this is not a claim that Russell’s teammate lacks race pace. Antonelli crashed in Q1 and starts 16th. Russell starts first, with a much simpler route to the win, laps led and the teammate bonus.

If Russell turns pole into control of the race, his salary buys access to more than finishing points. Baku can always scramble a race, but there is no reason to get cute about the strongest car and driver combination we have seen so far. If you like him to convert pole into the win outright, that is a call you can also play with the latest Polymarket sign-up bonus.

MIGHTY FROM GEORGE RUSSELL!! 💪

The Mercedes driver takes pole in Baku ☝️#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/ZguH7Ev4VJ

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 25, 2026

Max Verstappen ($9,600) | Starting Position: 8th

Verstappen starts eighth. Had we looked only at qualifying, we might have talked ourselves out of paying $9,600 for him. Practice makes that a harder argument.

He finished second in FP1, third in FP2 and first in FP3. Our model projects him at 4.74 overall, roughly a fourth- or fifth-place finish. If that projection holds, he can score through both his finishing position and the places he gains along the way.

Isack Hadjar starts fourth, so the teammate bonus is far from guaranteed. Verstappen complained about the car’s ride and braking during qualifying. Max complaining about his car is roughly as surprising as Baku having a long straight, but the complaints did coincide with a disappointing result. We are betting that the driver who topped FP3 can work through those problems and move forward. He won at Baku last year but we don’t need a victory for him to justify the roster spot.

Pierre Gasly ($5,600) | Starting Position: 7th

Gasly’s shock pole at Monza was a pretty convincing advertisement for Alpine’s straight-line speed. He finished seventh there, and he has backed up that performance this weekend in Baku: seventh in FP2, sixth in FP3 and seventh in qualifying. This is no longer a one-lap surprise from a few weeks ago.

Our sheet has Gasly at 9.04 overall, so we aren’t counting on him to hold seventh for the entire race. At $5,600, a finish around that projection and a teammate bonus over Franco Colapinto would be useful. He has shown enough pace this weekend to make that a reasonable ask.

Carlos Sainz ($3,800) | Starting Position: 14th

Sainz made Q3 and qualified ninth, but a five-place penalty drops him to 14th on the grid. That penalty hurts his track position while creating a DFS opportunity: he can gain places if the Williams races as well as it qualified.

Williams brought an updated chassis to Baku. Sainz lost some Thursday running to a brake issue but was 11th in FP3 before reaching Q3. There is enough evidence of improved pace to take a shot at $3,800.

Our model’s 15.42 overall rating is the caution flag. Sainz could finish close to where he starts and contribute very little beyond the salary savings. We like the price because it keeps the lineup’s expensive core intact, with a chance for more if he can recover some of those positions lost to the penalty.

CARLOS: Five-place grid drop for failure to slow for yellow flags

CHECO: Three-place grid drop for driving at a reduced speed on the racing line, impeding Piastri#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/ru6vWATPGn

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 25, 2026

Mercedes Constructor ($13,500) | Starting Position: 1st/16th

Mercedes is the biggest commitment in the lineup, and Antonelli starting 16th makes it a little uncomfortable. Russell’s pole and the team’s pace throughout practice make the case anyway.

Russell can supply the win and laps led. Antonelli was second in FP2 and fourth in FP3 before his qualifying crash, and that pace gives him a chance to climb from 16th into the points. If he keeps the car clean and makes progress through the field, both Mercedes drivers can contribute to the constructor score.

That recovery is the risk we accept for access to the weekend’s strongest team. Perez’s captain salary gives us the room to pair Mercedes with Russell, then add Verstappen’s potential to climb from eighth, Gasly’s proven pace and Sainz’s low-cost path to gaining positions.

But…Baku may have its own ideas about how the race should go.

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