2020 Hungarian Grand Prix Betting Odds and Preview

After starting the 2020 Formula One season with back to back races at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, the F1 season will travel to Budapest for the 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Hungarian Grand Prix is the third round of the 2020 F1 World Championship season and is officially known as the Formula 1 Aramco Magyar Nagydíj 2020. It will be held on July 19, 2020, in Mogyorod, Hungary. It will cover a total distance of 306.63 km (190.531 mi) or 70 laps around at the Hungaroring.

This year’s race is the 36th running of the Hungarian Grand Prix and the 35th time that it will be part of the Formula 1 World Championship. Lewis Hamilton is the defending race champion and he is also the winningest driver in the history of the Hungarian Grand Prix with a total of seven wins in this race. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel is the only other current driver to have won the race more than once, doing so in 2015 and 2017. But Hamilton has won this race in the last two years and after last week’s race, he is a favorite to win here again.

Hamilton emerged victorious in the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix, beating out teammate Valtteri Bottas and Red Bulls’ Max Verstappen at the finish line. The current Formula 1 champion started his season on the wrong foot after he was penalized for a pair of violations. He crossed the line second but was demoted to 4th place due to a five-second penalty.

After two rounds of Formula 1 action, here’s how the drivers rank in the drivers’ standings:

1. Valtteri Bottas – 43 points
2. Lewis Hamilton – 37 points
3. Lando Norris – 26 points
4. Charles Leclerc – 18 points
5. Sergio Perez – 16 points
6. Max Verstappen – 15 points
7. Carlos Sainz Jr. – 13 points
8. Alexander Albon – 12 points
9. Pierre Gasly – 6 points
10. Lance Stroll – 6 points

Bottas is on top of the standings after going 1st and 2nd in the first two races of the season. Lewis Hamilton has climbed to 2nd after he was demoted to 4th place in the first race of the year due to penalties incurred. Lando Norris is a surprise third in the very early leaderboard as he finished 3rd and 5th in the first two races of the year. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished third in the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix but did not finish the Styrian Grand Prix last weekend.

Here are the 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix session timings in the United States:

These are the favorites to win the 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix. Odds were taken from MyBookie.ag as of 07/16/2020.

Who Are the Favorites?

Lewis Hamilton is favored for the third straight race this season. The reigning Formula One champion is on a mission to win a seventh world title that would put him in a tie with the legendary Michael Schumacher in the record books. Hamilton has won five out of the last six Formula One world championships including the last three. He finished 4th in the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix after getting a five-second penalty but bounced back to win the second race of the season last week. Hamilton is the man to beat at the Hungaroring because he’s won this race more than anyone in history. He has 11 Top 5 finishes in his 13 total starts here and his average finish of 3.8 is better than any current driver. And yes, Hamilton has won this race five times in the last eight years.

Valtteri Bottas has been on a roll since last season. Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes was the champ’s closest rival last year and after having his best Formula One season ever, Bottas continued his good run by winning the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix and finishing second to Hamilton in last week’s race. As a result, Bottas is the early leader in the driver’s standings although Hamilton could change that after this race. As for Bottas, he has five Top 10 finishes in seven appearances at the Hungaroring. His average finish here is 9.4 and his best finish was 3rd in 2017. Bottas was 8th in last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen has emerged as one of the main challengers to the dominance of the McLarens. Verstappen finished 3rd overall last season after winning a career-high three races last year. Verstappen was among the favorites to win the Austrian Grand Prix which was held at Red Bull’s home track but he didn’t finish the race due to an electronics problem. Verstappen bounced back by finishing third in the second race at the Red Bull race track last weekend. He has a very good track record at the Hungaroring with four Top 5 finishes in five starts here. Verstappen started at the pole position last year and finished second to Hamilton in the final race.

Alexander Albon finished last year’s Championship in 8th place and moved from Toro Rosso and replaced Pierre Gasly at Red Bull in midseason. Albon did not finish the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix but was ruled as the 13th finisher after completing 90% of the race. He had a strong showing in the second race of the year as he finished fourth behind Hamilton, Bottas, and Verstappen last weekend. Albon’s appearance at the Hungaroring last year was his first and he finished 10th after starting on the 12th slot.

Sergio Perez finished 10th last season, his worst since 2015. This Racing Point driver from Mexico finished 6th in the first two races of the 2020 Formula One World Championship and is 5th in the very early drivers standings. Perez has appeared nine times in this race and has two Top 10 finishes and an average finish of 13.3. He started and finished in 11th place here last year.

Who Wins?

When you look at the Hungaroring, you cannot overlook the veterans who have done well on this race track as well. Sebastian Vettel has won this race twice and has finished in the Top 3 in five out of the last seven installments of the Hungarian Grand Prix. He’s in a funk since last year but you’ll never know what happens. Likewise, Kimi Raikkonen has done well in this race track with ten Top 5 finishes in 17 starts. Raikkonen’s average finish of 6.0 is ranked next to Hamilton. He’s finished outside the Top 10 just once since 2007 and if you can find a prop bet for a Top 10 finish, Raikkonen could be a good idea.

When it comes to who wins the race though, there is no doubt that this is Lewis Hamilton’s race to lose. The defending champion has the best resume among any driver in history at the Hungaroring. Hamilton is also coming off a win at the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix and he will most certainly be determined to take his rightful place on top of the drivers’ standings. Once again, it will be Valtteri Bottas who will challenge him at the finish line, and given Bottas’ recent string of success, he has value at plus money.

Prediction: Lewis Hamilton

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