This weekend, July 29th to 31st, Formula 1 returns to the famous Hungaroring in Hungary for the 13th Grand Prix of the season. Will we see an upset on the track or will Red Bull and Ferrari continue their dominance over the field? Bookmaker William Hill has the latest odds!
※ Current Odds Date & Time: July 26th, 1:00 P.M. (EST)
Considering his mistakes from France last week, the outright race winner odds on Charles Leclerc stand at a solid 2.62, which is just a slight margin apart from his greatest rival, Max Verstappen who is at 2.25.
If Ferrari and Leclerc are able to produce an error free weekend and perform as they usually do then their chances to take the top spot podium finish will become that much more probable. As it stands, the oddsmakers don’t have too much faith in Ferrari having an error prone weekend but this is Formula 1, which means anything can happen.
When it comes to racing in general, this week we are back at the famous Hungaroring track. A 4.381km long circuit driven over the course of 70 laps. Some of the most prominent names to race and win on this circuit include the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna and Lewis Hamilton who currently holds the record for most wins on this very circuit (8).
Some of the previous winners in more recent history include Esteban Ocon (2021), Lewis Hamilton (2020, 2019, 2018) and Sebastian Vettel (2017). The circuit itself features a technically demanding layout with 14 corners and only 1 DRS (Drag Reduction System) zone making overtaking especially difficult in an already difficult track.
To make things even more complicated for the drivers ahead of the Grand Prix weekend, the weather forecast is not at all favourable with rain expected to hit the circuit on Saturday’s qualifications and Sunday’s race. Long term fans will remember last year’s mayhem in rainy conditions when seven drivers were forced to retire due to unpredictable conditions and starting line crashes.
Being such a demanding track as it is, especially if the weather forecast turns out to be correct, we could potentially see another commanding Max Verstappen victory as he is one of the most capable and versatile drivers in the business at the moment. He is more than capable of adapting to the changing conditions and Red Bull does not seem to struggle with tactics and tire choices this year.
Their main challenger, Ferrari, on the other hand, has showed nothing but struggles with tires, strategy and consistency putting them in a rather unfavourable position to make something happen out of this race weekend.
When it comes to the midfield runners, the HAAS duo, Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen, will definitely seek to score some points this weekend. Especially if the race goes down in wet conditions as the HAAS Ferrari currently looks incredibly powerful in rainy and mixed weather conditions.
Another team to look out for is McLaren with their line-up consisting of Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris. While Ricciardo is struggling this year with the new regulations, he does seem to be improving and finding his footing with the McLaren car.
Could the McLaren duo produce another impressive performance and take home some more points? We’ll have to watch and find out.
The race starts on July 31st at 2:00 pm local time.
