We’ve made it to the final race of F1 season before summer break, this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Last week in France, Ferrari seemed to shoot themselves in the foot in their hopes of winning the F1 Constructors Cup. Charles Leclerc was leading the race early before a spin-out led to a crash. His teammate, Carlos Sainz, was forced to start at the back of the pack after taking penalties for exceeding power unit changes, and then the team drew criticism for pitting him near the end of the race and potentially costing themselves a podium.
That’s also not to mention the moment where Ferrari told Sainz to pit while he was trying to make a pass.
🎥 THAT moment 😳 The team tells Carlos to box, just as this scrap is unfolding: pic.twitter.com/Q27neoIuRJ
— Team 55 (@Team55_) July 24, 2022
As a result, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen went on to win the French Grand Prix, and Red Bull extended their lead in the Constructors to 82 points over Ferrari. However, Mercedes was able to secure 2nd and 3rd place finishes and now trail Ferrari by only 44 points for second place.
The win also allowed Verstappen to lengthen his first place lead, now ahead of Leclerc by 63 points. Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez is in third, but only seven points behind Leclerc now. Carlos Sainz sits in fourth but is just one point ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell.
If you’re interested in using any of our free picks below to bet on the Hungarian Grand Prix, make sure to use one of our sign-up offers for extra cash:
The big storyline in Hungary will be whether or not Ferrari can rebound. With Mercedes claiming podiums in each of their last four races and continuing to iron on their ongoing issues with bouncing, the former champions seem to be hitting their stride. While they may not be able to catch Red Bull for the Constructors title, they could certainly push Ferrari for second place if Ferrari continues to struggle.
Haas is also making headlines by finally bringing their first car update of the season. The update appears to be similar to the one Ferrari used, creating a host of small refinements and new parts on the car. However, the team will only bring the updates for Kevin Magnussen, with Mick Schumacher set to get them after the summer break.
The final big storyline could be the weather. Right now, the forecast calls for rain on Saturday and Sunday, which could drastically impact the performance of certain cars. Ferrari has been fine in wet weather but has buckled under pressure this season, while Alpine was tremendous in the wet weather in Canada a few weeks back. Perhaps that could cause Fernando Alonso or Esteban Ocon to push for a top-six finish, or even a podium if there is some chaos.
The Hungaroring circuit has 14 corners with two DRS zones and will run for 70 laps. It’s jokingly referred to as “Monaco without the barriers” because of the narrow track that could make it hard for these larger cars to overtake one another. It could also lead to a fair few collisions, which we’ve seen in Hungary in the past.
The circuit is not an overly quick one, so traction is usually very important in the slow to medium corners. However, the rain could obviously change those plans, so that’s something we need to keep an eye on as the weekend progresses.
Historically, the Hungarian Grand Prix has been a one-stop race with a much shorter pit time than the French Grand Prix, so pairing that with the narrow track means that deciding when to make that one pit stop will be a crucial strategy for the teams.
Hungarian Grand Prix TV, how to watch
Qualifying
- Date: Saturday, July 30
- Time: 10:00 a.m. ET
- TV: ESPN2
The Race
- Date: Sunday, July 31st
- Time: 9:00 a.m. ET
- TV: ESPN
For more F1 Coverage, visit amNY Sports
2022 Hungarian Grand Prix Odds
| Driver | Odds to Win | Odds to Finish on Podium | Odds to Finish Top Six | Odds to Finish Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Leclerc | +135 | -330 | -500 | -600 |
| Max Verstappen | +165 | -250 | -550 | -650 |
| Carlos Sainz | +400 | -140 | -400 | -550 |
| Lewis Hamilton | +1100 | +110 | -400 | -500 |
| George Russell | +1600 | +145 | -350 | -500 |
| Sergio Perez | +2200 | +190 | -350 | -500 |
| Lando Norris | +15000 | +22000 | +120 | -280 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | +20000 | +2200 | +275 | -280 |
| Fernando Alonso | +25000 | +4000 | -120 | -125 |
| Esteban Ocon | +25000 | +3500 | +225 | -175 |
| Sebastian Vettel | +50000 | +4500 | +1600 | -120 |
| Mick Schumacher | +50000 | +15000 | +1600 | +225 |
| Valtteri Bottas | +50000 | +5500 | +1000 | +105 |
| Pierre Gasly | +50000 | +4500 | +600 | +120 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | +90000 | +15000 | +2500 | +240 |
| Kevin Magnussen | +90000 | +15000 | +700 | +380 |
| Guanyu Zhou | +90000 | +25000 | +3300 | +330 |
| Lance Stroll | +90000 | +20000 | +3300 | +200 |
| Alex Albon | +90000 | +20000 | +4000 | +170 |
| Nicholas Latifi | +90000 | +30000 | +15000 | +1800 |
For up-to-the-minute odds for Hungarian Grand Prix visit DraftKings here.
Hungarian Grand Prix Top Picks
Max Verstappen to win (+165)
We bet Verstappen last week and won and now he has even more favorable odds. I know that Vegas still wants us to get behind Leclerc, and I know that the Ferrari driver has been better in qualifying and is in, arguably, the better car for this track, but it’s just hard to bet against Verstappen when the pressure is on. Ferrari has failed to deliver time and time again, and if there is chaos due to weather, I trust Verstappen to handle it better than Leclerc.
If you do choose to bet this, the +165 odds means that, if you bet $100, you will see a $165 profit if Verstappen were to win.
Fernando Alonso Finished Top-Six (-120)
We mentioned above that Alpine has been good in the rain before, and Fernando Alonso has shown some solid performance of late. He was 6th last weekend and 5th in the UK back on July 3rd. Before finishing 9th in Canada, he had two 7th place finishes in Monaco and Azerbaijan, so he’s been hanging around the top six for the last few months. Given the potential weather concerns, and just a gut feeling, I think Alonso can sneak into the top six again.
Gasly’s -120 odds for top six mean that you need to bet $120 to see a $100 profit, but if you wanted to be riskier, you could bet on Alonso’s teammate Esteban Ocon to finish top six at +225, which means that betting $100 would land you a $225 profit if he accomplishes the feat. The payout is larger because, obviously, the result is less likely.
Hungarian Grand Prix Darkhorse Pick
Carlos Sainz Wins the Hungarian Grand Prix (+400)
I don’t really trust Ferrari to make the right decisions or come up big in key spots, but Sainz has looked really good in recent weeks. I know that Leclerc is the betting favorite to win the race, but my gut is telling me Sainz has the better chance. Ferrari’s car should perform better on this track than Red Bull, so having a Ferrari driver atop the podium wouldn’t be a shock, but this bet is only if you truly trust this team to deliver when they need to.
Haas Has a Double Points Finish (+300)
I feel pretty good about Kevin Magnussen finishing in the points (top ten) since he’s done it in five races this year and two of his last three. He was tracking for it in France despite being forced to start at the back of the pack before a safety car and collision with Nicholas Latifi ruined that. Since Magnussen is getting car upgrades this weekend, a top ten finish seems well within his reach.
Getting teammate Mick Schumacher in there might be tougher since he only has two points finishes all year; however, they came in two of the last three – Great Britain and Austria. With that good form of late plus questionable form from the rest of the midfield teams, it’s possible that we see both Haas racers cross the finish line in the points.
