2018 Hungarian Grand Prix Odds Preview

The last Formula 1 race before the midseason break is here, as the 33rd edition of the Hungarian Grand Prix comes to us this Sunday. This was the first Grand Prix ever held in a Communist nation when it first debuted in 1986, and it has become the traditional endpoint of the first half of the racing season. The teams that walk away with the best performances here go into the break with a lot of confidence, while the rest have to wait for the Belgian Grand Prix near the end of August for redemption. Check out the NASCAR odds for each driver below, along with our perspective on the race.

2018 Hungarian Grand Prix Odds Preview

All set for the #HungarianGP! #ForzaFerrari pic.twitter.com/mzH6A0bpWN

— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) July 24, 2018

2018 Hungarian Grand Prix Odds

• Sebastian Vettel                                                          15/8
• Lewis Hamilton                                                           11/4
• Max Verstappen                                                          3/1
• Daniel Ricciardo                                                         10/3
• Kimi Raikkonen                                                          16/1
• Valtteri Bottas                                                             16/1
• Charles Leclerc                                                          600/1
• Carlos Sainz                                                                1000/1
• Kevin Magnussen                                                       1000/1
• Nico Hulkenberg                                                         1000/1
• Fernando Alonso                                                        1500/1
• Sergio Perez                                                               1500/1
• Esteban Ocon                                                             2000/1
• Pierre Gasly                                                                2000/1
• Marcus Ericsson                                                         2000/1
• Brendon Hartley                                                          3000/1
• Stoffel Vandoorne                                                       3000/1
• Lance Stroll                                                                 4000/1
• Sergey Sirotkin                                                           4000/1

The course at the Hungarian Grand Prix is known as the Hungaroring, and it has a number of turns that require low and medium speed, which is why many people view it as a track where Red Bull should have an advantage. However, Red Bull has only won here twice, as Mark Webber won in 2010 and Daniel Ricciardo won four years later. In the last three years, Sebastian Vettel won in 2015 and 2017, with Lewis Hamilton winning in 2016. That 2016 win marked Hamilton’s fifth victory at the Hungaroring, making it his second-most prolific track for victories, as he has six victories in Montreal and five at the Circuit of the Americas. Vettel has already come out in public saying that he expects Red Bull (Ricciardo or Max Verstappen) to get the win this weekend. Last year, Red Bull had early catastrophe as those two wound up crashing into one another in just the first lap, and the sight of Ricciardo sending a particularly rude gesture toward his teammate was one of the more entertaining images from the 2017 edition. The course sits in a natural depression near Budapest, and it is tight and bumpy. There is a straightaway through the start-finish line that measures about half a mile, but then the corners come quickly and often. Teams with solid chassis performance do well here (which is why Red Bull is a favorite). They showed solid acceleration and corner speed at Monaco and other similar tracks that have lots of turns. At Monaco, Ricciardo was able to stay ahead of Vettel even though Ricciardo’s engine was having trouble. Average qualifying speeds at the Hungaroring hang right around 200 kph, which is about 50 fewer than what you see at Monza. Over 4.38 kilometers, the track has 13 corners, which is five more than the Red Bull Ring, which has about the same distance. Turn 1 is just about the only turn where overtaking someone is easy, and if you don’t come out of Turn 15 well, you will get passed on the straightaway. Weather predictions have about a 60% chance of rain for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with the worst of the rain expected Friday. Generally, this is one of the hotter races in the season, with temperatures pushing the mid-80s (30 Celsius). So if you go with the hype, you might pick Verstappen or Ricciardo. However, there are only 17 points separating Hamilton and Vettel, so expect a tight race between them as well. Red Bull has not won here in four years, and given the past few races, there’s scant sign that they are due.