F1 Hungarian Grand Prix 2022 Betting Tips & Predictions (July 31)

The Formula One World Championship continues with the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest, Hungary, marking the 13th round of the 2022 season. Once again, the upcoming race will present Charles Leclerc with an opportunity to improve his impression and reduce the gap between Max Verstappen and himself. With another disappointing performance behind him, it might be shocking to see why the best bookmakers in Hungary are pricing the Monegasque driver as the top favourite.

Admittedly, he hasn’t impressed in France, but it wasn’t entirely Leclerc’s fault, so it’s easy to imagine him seeking redemption on the Hungarian track and achieving it. But will he do it, and how should you bet on the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix 2022?

We’ll try to answer that in our free Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix betting preview, where we provide you with expert picks and top odds courtesy of the best F1 bookies.

F1 Hungarian Grand Prix 2022 – Bookies’ Favourites

The Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix betting odds for this weekend look much different to how they did last weekend. Interestingly it’s not Max Verstappen who leads the outright betting markets, but instead, Charles Leclerc, who is billed as the most likely winner, followed by Verstappen and Carlos Sainz in third.

Charles Leclerc – 6/5

Charles Leclerc has won 3 races this season, yet only one since the Australian Grand Prix. And still, any car racing bookie you’ll visit will have the Monegasque priced as the top dog to win the Hungarian Grand Prix. That might seem weird, considering Leclerc’s poor showing in the French race and the fact that he has just one podium across the last seven races, but there’s more to the upcoming race than that.

The Hungaroring circuit is used rarely throughout the year. Still, besides being dusty when the cars take to the track in the first practice session, it has another distinctive characteristic. The Hungaroring circuit is a track that is notoriously difficult to overtake.

Although the recent iterations of the race produced many highlights, the Hungary GP tends to be boring, usually won by the driver who claims the pole position. And when we talk about drivers who can deliver in the qualifying run and secure the pole position, we have to mention Leclerc.

However, the 24-year-old doesn’t have a perfect record on the track. He raced in Hungary 4 times and has managed 2 DNFs (2018, 2021), one 4th-place finish (2019), and an 11th-place finish in 2020.

Max Verstappen – 6/4

Max Verstappen is the current Formula One leader, and barring any surprises in the latter half of the season, the Dutchman should secure his second World Championship title. Although a win in the Hungarian GP won’t guarantee him the title just yet, it’s worth noting that the leader of the Championship after the Hungarian Grand Prix has gone on to win the title in 25 of the last 36 seasons in which the race has happened. It might not happen this year, but there’s a good chance it will.

Verstappen is now a whopping 63 points in the Championship standings with only ten more races to go, which is quite a substantial lead. And it’s hard to argue with Verstappen’s chances to win this weekend, considering his form.

Verstappen has now won all but 3 of his last nine races – he was third in Monaco, 7th in England, and second in Austria. He also has a solid track record in Hungary with two podiums from his last three starts – second in 2019 and 2020 and 9th in 2021.

So, should you add Verstappen to your F1 Hungarian Grand Prix 2022 predictions list? Perhaps, but there is one more driver we must talk about.

Carlos Sainz – 11/2

When we talk about the best picks for the upcoming race, we can’t forget about Carlos Sainz. Admittedly, the Ferrari driver doesn’t have the best stats, and he hasn’t achieved nearly as much as Verstappen this year, but he has done surprisingly well.

Last weekend, Sainz started the French GP in the back row – after Ferrari changed his hybrid system – but even with the grid penalty, the Spaniard produced a superb showing and ended the race in 5th place. Sainz showed class and talent with his driving on the day and is rightly priced as one of the main drivers to watch on the outright betting markets.

Sainz might not be one of the candidates to win the Championship, yet he is an exciting outsider pick you should consider adding to your 2022 Hungarian GP betting tips sheet. But is a driver who has managed just one win and six podiums this season a good bet at the offered F1 Hungarian Grand Prix 2022 odds?

Past Winners of the Race

• 2021 – Estaban Ocon
• 2020 – Lewis Hamilton
• 2019 – Lewis Hamilton
• 2018 – Lewis Hamilton
• 2017 – Sebastian Vettel

Time and Date of the Race

The 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix is set to take place at Hungaroring in Mogyoród, Hungary, on Sunday, July 31, at 15:00 local time (CEST). It will mark the 13th race of the 2022 Formula One season, and while the race is notorious for being very boring, it has had many highlights over the last few years.

F1 Hungarian Grand Prix 2022 Predictions

With all the basic information about the race out of the way, it’s time to focus on the main topic – our F1 Hungarian Grand Prix 2022 predictions, where we provide you with three expert picks for the upcoming race.

Max Verstappen to Win – 6/4

We avoided betting on Max Verstappen as the favourite, but we like him at 6/4. Admittedly, he hasn’t achieved much in Hungary, and knowing how vital pole position is – and given his poor qualifying performances relative to Leclerc – it might seem wiser to void betting on him again. Still, nothing would suggest Verstappen can’t win in Hungary.

Beating Leclerc in the qualifying race won’t be easy, but realistically, Verstappen doesn’t have to do it, knowing that he has outperformed Leclerc on similar tracks where the Mad Max didn’t start from the pole. We like Verstappen better than the two favourites, mainly because we feel the two drivers should be priced at the same odds.

Lewis Hamilton to Win – 10/1

Lewis Hamilton placed second in France, which makes it hard to understand why he is priced as high as 10/1 for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The offered Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix betting odds on the Brit are outrageously high if we consider his past results here.

Hamilton has the record for the most pole positions (8) at the Hungaroring out of anyone, and he was last on the pole in 2021, yet he could only finish second on the day. Nevertheless, we have to consider that of the last ten races in Hungary, 50% have been from the pole position, so with some quick math, he shouldn’t be priced nearly as high as he is.

Admittedly, Hamilton has not looked nearly as dangerous this season, but he has not looked terrible lately. Besides that, Hamilton is by far the most successful driver on the track, with eight wins – 4 more than Michael Schumacher.

Lewis Hamilton Fastest Qualifier – 14/1

If we believe Hamilton will do well in Hungary, he will have to do well in the qualifiers. So adding him to our 2022 Hungarian GP prediction list to win the qualifiers might seem like a bold take. Still, it’s not a bad bet at 14/1, especially considering how dominant the Brith has been in claiming pole in Hungary.

There isn’t much to say here – Hamilton is priced way too generously to win the qualifiers at 14/1.

2022 Hungarian GP Prediction – Bonus Pick

We end our Hungarian Grand Prix picks with a longshot bet on Lando Norris to win the race (each- way) at 250/1. Although Norris himself doesn’t believe he can win currently, we have to keep in mind that we’re talking about a race on Hungaroring, which has produced some wacky results in the past. One came in 2021 when Esteban Ocon came out of nowhere to win his first career race.

Prediction: Lando Norris to win – 250/1 (each way)