As in every season of Formula 1 and of the Fanta F1 that respects itself, there are the so-called flops, that is the pilots who have disappointed the expectations of the Fantamanagers and the top, those who have met or even done better than expected. In this article we will delve deeper 4 drivers who for one reason or another can be considered flops at the start of this season.
Lewis Hamilton a real flop at Fanta F1
Let's start with a driver who was approaching the 2025 season with very high expectations: we are talking about Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion at the beginning of the season had said ready to fight for the eighth title. After 7 races and 2 sprints He scored only 53 points and sits sixth in the drivers' championship. There are few fantasy managers who, after the initial euphoria, still have him in their Fantasy F1 team. Excluding the sprints (where he obtained excellent results) never finished higher than fourth place, obtained in the last GP race, in Imola.
The causes of this flop can also be traced back to the SF-25. Not only can it not compete with the best teams, but sometimes, like in Miami, it is even threatened by Williams in the fight for the fourth position on the grid. In addition to this, however, it is fair to compare Hamilton's performance with his teammate. The English driver is suffering a lot from the comparison with Leclerc both in qualifying and in the race. This does not even bring the points in the Fanta F1 dedicated to the driver who finishes in front of his teammate. As previously written, Hamilton shone in the sprint races thanks to a victory and a third place. However, the winner on Saturday brings Fantamanager 8 points, against the 25 of the winner on Sunday, a day in which Hamilton almost always struggled. This inevitably leads to avoid having Lewis Hamilton on your team.
Lawson is relegated after just two games
Another driver who had high expectations at the start of the season was Liam Lawson. The protagonist of the handover that saw him overtake Tsunoda in the hierarchy and get behind the wheel of the RB21 alongside Max Verstappen, was outclassed in every way, forcing Red Bull to make a drastic decision. After only two races he was "sent back" to Racing Bulls, in an environment he already knows and certainly with less pressure.
It's a big flop for Fanta F1 given that he was a driver from whom we expected to score points consistently and instead he is still at an altitude of 0. With Verstappen the comparison was merciless. The New Zealand driver has never really understood that car that only Verstappen can take to the top of the standings. With Hadjar there was less of a difference, even if in 5 races he has not yet managed to get ahead of him. The Fantasy managers who at the beginning of the season saw Lawson as a low-cost outsider who could bring a lot of points, today they look elsewhere.
The Spanish driver is stuck at 0 points: a problem with Fanta F1
We continue with a driver who has surprised negatively in this first part of 2025. Fernando Alonso is incredibly stuck at zero points after 7 races, while his teammate and often criticized Stroll has a whopping 14 points. It cannot be said that the Spanish rider was generally slower than the Canadian. When he finished the race he always finished ahead of him and most of the points scored by Stroll came in the chaotic race in Australia and the equally chaotic sprint race in Miami.
But Fantasy Managers are interested in points and consequently be able to exploit every opportunity, something that the 43-year-old Spaniard has not been able to do. Aston Martin is light years away from the car that made its fans dream in 2023, but with Stroll in tenth position in the drivers' championship, Alonso's 17th place can only make him enter rightfully among the flops of this start of the season of the Fantasy F1: the two-time world champion driver is called upon to redeem himself and the Imola qualification increases the hopes of the Asturian driver's fans.
Gabriel Bortoleto: a flop foretold?
We conclude this selection of drivers with Bortoleto, managed by Fernando Alonso himself. The Brazilian talent had attracted the attention of the Fantamanagers after a fantastic season in F2 culminating with the world title. In addition to this, the very low price at which it could be purchased had enticed the various players.. However, after 7 races, we have realised that the only points it can bring are the 10 bonus dedicated to the last classified. A real flop certainly due to a car, the worst on the grid, which does not allow him to express his potential, as well as his inexperience in the category.
Even the comparison with Nico Hülkenberg, his teammate at Stake, is not a pleasant one from a Fanta F1 perspective. Only in one race out of seven did he finish ahead of the German. Also he never went higher than 14th place, while his teammate scored 6 points with an excellent seventh place in the first race of the season.
