Motor Manager Runde 13: best drivers and differentials

Motor Manager Runde 13 preview: Monza best buys, hidden gems and who to sell

Motor Manager heads to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, and the deadline is 16:00 on Saturday 5 September. Eleven rounds remain, so this is still a race worth spending on. The whole board has been repriced since the last look at Runde 13, and one slot in particular now looks completely different.

The short version: the pit crew market has moved, the best pit crew in the game is no longer the one everybody assumed, and the money it frees up is what decides your Runde 13 score. Everything below comes from the current Runde 13 projection and the live Motor Manager prices.

What changed for Runde 13

The bookmaker now posts a per-constructor fastest-pit-stop market for this race, and it has reshuffled the pit crew order. Ferrari and RB are priced as joint favourites at 18.2% each, ahead of McLaren on 16.3% and Mercedes on 15.5%. Both favourites project at the top of the scale for Runde 13 - and one of them costs 5.70m while the other costs 11.92m.

The driver market barely moved at the very top. Lando Norris is the race favourite on a 29.5% win probability, George Russell is next on 25.0%, and then a gap to the two Ferraris on 12.5% each. Max Verstappen is only the sixth-most-likely winner at 6.2%, which matters a lot for a driver who costs 13.02m.

The pit crew slot: one contract, the biggest decision of the round

You field exactly one pit crew, and it is the highest-scoring position in Motor Manager. That makes this a pure value question.

RB (5.70m, 300k) is the pick of the round and it is not close. It carries the same projection as Ferrari's pit crew for 6.22m less, which is why its 52.68 points per million is comfortably the best figure on the board - driver, constructor or pit crew - and nearly 50% clear of the next item on the list. The 6.22m you keep is enough to turn a mid-price driver into a premium one, and that is the actual reason to own it. At 24.9% it is the most-owned pit crew in the game, so this is not a differential - it is simply the correct pick, and skipping it costs you real points.

Ferrari (11.92m, 300k) is the premium version of the same market read, and it has the form to back it: 865 points across the last three races is the best pit crew return in the field. If you are already carrying a cheap driver line and want to spend the money here instead, it is a defensible build. But you are paying 6.22m for zero extra projected points, so only do it if the money genuinely has nowhere better to go.

McLaren (12.24m, 279k, 5.5% owned) is the differential at the top end. It is the least-owned of the four premium crews despite 840 points in the last three races and the third-best fastest-stop price. If you want to be different from the field while staying at the top of the projection, this is the way to do it.

The hidden gem is Audi (5.80m, 206k). It costs almost exactly what RB costs, projects 206k, and its 35.57 PPM is the second-best figure in the game. Only 8.9% of managers hold it. If RB's ownership makes you want a cheap crew nobody else has, Audi is the alternative that keeps most of the value. Aston Martin (6.01m, 157k) is barely held at all at 2.6% ownership, though the 5.2% fastest-stop price means you are taking a real step down in ceiling to get there.

Constructors for Runde 13: two contracts, one premium and one enabler

The three big constructors are separated by six projected points and two and a quarter million in price. Ferrari (10.71m, 186k) is the highest projection and the best PPM of the three, and 815 points across the last three races is the strongest recent form in the class. It is the default hold at 42.3% ownership.

McLaren (12.08m, 183k) is the differential of the premium three. Only 16.3% own it, against 49.8% for Mercedes, and it projects two points higher for almost a million less. If you own Mercedes and want a swap that costs you nothing in expectation but changes your rank profile, that is it.

RB (3.94m, 84k) is the enabler and the best constructor PPM in the game at 21.42. Liam Lawson's 33.7% top-six probability is what carries it, and it is the cheapest way to fill the second constructor slot without giving up meaningful points - Alpine costs 0.58m less and projects 34k lower. At 17.2% ownership it is still under-held for what it does.

Drivers for Runde 13: four contracts, and the value is in the middle

Premium picks

Norris (12.79m, 209k) is the highest-projected driver in the game and the race favourite at a 29.5% win probability. He also has the best recent form of any driver - 904 points across the last three races, including 355 last time out. He is the one premium you should be reluctant to be without.

Hamilton (10.67m, 179k) is the best value in the premium bracket. He is the cheapest of the top four drivers by more than a million, matches Leclerc's projection exactly, and his 76.6% top-six probability is within a point of Norris and Russell. His 16.79 PPM is the best of any driver priced above 10m. At 36.5% he is already well owned, and correctly so.

Leclerc (11.84m, 179k) is the same market read at a higher price, and Monza is his team's home race. He has 770 points in the last three rounds against Hamilton's 565, so if you weight form over price he is the Ferrari to own. Owning both is legitimate here - they share an identical 12.5% win probability and 76.6% top-six probability, so this is not a coin flip you need to call.

Value picks and hidden gems

Lawson (6.55m, 106k) is the best driver in the game outside the premium tier and the one that makes an aggressive squad work. His 33.7% top-six probability is more than three times the next non-premium driver's, his 16.22 PPM matches Norris, and only 12.6% of managers hold him. He scored 165 last round. If you need a fourth driver who can actually score rather than just fill a seat, this is it.

Lindblad (4.09m, 80k) has the best points-per-million of any driver in Motor Manager at 19.57, and at 4.09m he is the cheapest route to a functional fourth contract. The catch is ownership: 37.6% already hold him, so he protects your rank rather than improving it. Take him for the value, not for the edge.

The genuine differential is Bortoleto (4.52m, 61k, 11.5% owned). He projects 61k against Nico Hulkenberg's 59k from the identical car for a slightly lower price, they share the same 8.4% top-six probability, and Hulkenberg is nearly twice as widely owned at 20.0%. If you are taking an Audi driver, take the cheaper and less-owned one. Pierre Gasly (5.95m, 73k, 17.7% owned) is the step up if you want more floor at the cost of 1.4m.

Who to sell before Runde 13

Andrea Kimi Antonelli (12.03m, 154k) is the clearest sell on the board. He is the most-owned item in the entire game at 54.2%, and he is only the fifth-best driver by Runde 13 projection. His 7.4% win probability and 63.3% top-six probability both sit well behind the four drivers above him, and Hamilton projects 25k higher for 1.36m less. Selling him costs 120k in fees and funds a straight upgrade.

Max Verstappen (13.02m, 153k) is the second-most expensive contract in Motor Manager and only the sixth-best driver projection for this round. A 6.2% win probability puts him sixth of the seven front-runners, and 30 points last time out is not the form of a 13m asset. His 11.75 PPM is the weakest of any premium driver. Monza is not the race to hold him for.

Carlos Sainz (5.68m, 26k) and Oliver Bearman (5.75m, 29k) are two badly over-owned cheap drivers - 18.0% and 14.9% respectively, for projections of 26k and 29k and top-six probabilities under 1.5%. Both cost more than Lindblad and project roughly a third of what he does. Either sale costs under 60k in fees and pays for itself immediately.

Mercedes as a constructor (13.00m, 181k) is the softest premium hold. Half the field owns it, it is the most expensive constructor, it has the worst PPM of the big three at 13.89, and its 645 points in the last three races trails both Ferrari and McLaren. Moving to Ferrari saves 2.29m and gains 6k.

Captain pick for Runde 13

Motor Manager has a captain and he scores double, and only a driver is eligible for the armband - so it follows the driver table above. Lando Norris (12.79m, McLaren) at 209k is the pick, as the race favourite on a 29.5% win probability; George Russell (13.49m, Mercedes) at 197k on 25.0% is the alternative, and Lewis Hamilton (10.67m, Ferrari) at 179k the cheap route into the same band. There are no chips to fall back on, so the round is the armband plus seven correct picks - and outside it the pit crew slot is where the biggest single swing sits.

How the squad splits in Runde 13

The squad is one pit crew, two constructors and four drivers. The highest-scoring legal combination for Runde 13 comes to 67.88m, and its shape tells you where the round is decided: the cheap pit crew, two premium constructors, three premium drivers and one budget driver. Taking RB in the pit slot instead of a premium crew is what makes the third premium driver affordable - that single swap is the round in one move.

You can solve the exact optimum for your own budget on the Motor Manager optimal teams page, which runs the full solve live against the current projection. Compare every driver, constructor and pit crew side by side on Motor Manager player picks, and check the remaining calendar on the Motor Manager race schedule before committing to a transfer you will want to reverse in a fortnight. If you want the projection applied to the contracts you already hold, My Team does that in one click.

More Formula 1 analysis lives in the Motor Manager preview hub, and the previous race is covered in our Motor Manager Runde 12 preview. New to the game? Start with the Motor Manager strategy guide, or browse all our fantasy guides.

FAQ

Who should I buy in Motor Manager Runde 13?

The RB pit crew at 5.70m is the strongest buy of the round: it projects 300k, the same as Ferrari's pit crew, for 6.22m less, giving it 52.68 points per million, the best figure in the game and nearly 50% clear of the next item. After that, Lando Norris (12.79m, 209k) as the race favourite on a 29.5% win probability, and Lewis Hamilton (10.67m, 179k) as the best value premium driver at 16.79 PPM.

Who should I captain in Motor Manager Runde 13?

Lando Norris (12.79m, McLaren) at 209k. The captain scores double in Motor Manager and only a driver is eligible for the armband, so it goes to the best driver projection of the round - Norris as the 29.5% race favourite, with George Russell (13.49m, 197k) the alternative and Lewis Hamilton (10.67m, 179k) the value option. The highest-projected item of the round is the pit crew slot at 300k, but a pit crew cannot be captained.

Which is the best cheap pit crew for Runde 13?

RB at 5.70m, projected 300k. The bookmaker makes it joint-favourite for the fastest pit stop at 18.2%, level with Ferrari, and it costs less than half what Ferrari's crew costs. If you want the same idea at lower ownership, Audi at 5.80m projects 206k with 35.57 PPM and is held by only 8.9% of managers.

Should I sell Max Verstappen before Runde 13?

Yes, on this round's numbers. Verstappen is the second-most expensive contract in Motor Manager at 13.02m and only the sixth-best driver projection at 153k, with a 6.2% win probability that puts him sixth of the seven front-runners. Lewis Hamilton projects 26k higher for 2.35m less, and that 2.35m upgrades another slot as well.

Best differentials for Motor Manager Runde 13?

McLaren's pit crew (12.24m, 279k) at just 5.5% ownership is the standout - a top-of-the-board projection almost nobody holds. McLaren as a constructor (12.08m, 183k, 16.3% owned) is the same idea against a Mercedes block held by 49.8%, and Gabriel Bortoleto (4.52m, 61k, 11.5% owned) is the cheaper, less-owned Audi driver over Nico Hulkenberg.

This preview was written by TheFantasyTool AI - verified by Nicolai @ TheFantasyTool