Our F1 scribe previews the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, which is being staged at the Hungaroring on Sunday the 1st of August.
So, Lewis Hamilton finally managed to bounce back with the ‘Brit claiming honours on home soil. The win has seen him make real inroads on the Drivers’ Championship leader Max Verstappen, who sits only eight points clear at the summit of the standings as we head to Hungary.
Hungarian Grand Prix
Sunday 1 August
Hungaroring
To Win Race Outright
Max Verstappen 19/20
Lewis Hamilton 15/10
Sergio Perez 16/1
Valterri Bottas 18/1
Charles LeClerc 18/1
Lando Norris 40/1
Carlos Sainz 50/1
Daniel Ricciardo 80/1
Previous Race
Well, that was just the tonic for Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton as the Brit managed to claim first place out at Silverstone. The hometown hero put in a mammoth shift after being given a 10 second penalty for an incident with Max Verstappen on the first lap. Despite the setback, Hamilton still managed to pull one out the bag with Charles LeClerc taking second place. There was more good news for Mercedes as Valteri Bottas claimed the final podium berth.
It was a rather poor day at the office for Red Bull with Verstappen forced to retire and Sergio Perez finishing in 16th place.
With the Red Bulls out of the running, McLaren and Faerrrai took full advantage with Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finishing fourth and fifth, while Carlos Sainz claimed ninth.
Alpine also managed to bag some valuable points with Fernando Alonso claiming seventh and Esteban Ocon claiming eighth. The Aston Martin of Lance Stroll was sandwiched between the aforementioned duo in seventh, while Yuki Tsunado secured tenth for AlphaTauri.
Track
The Hungaroring really is a feat of Soviet ingenuity with the track, which was built near the backend of the Cold War, boasting the fastest construction time of any F1 facility, taking little over eight months to build. The circuit is situated in the city of Mogyorod which is located some 18 kilometres outside of the Hungarian capital of Budapest.
The track consists of fourteen turns and covers a total race distance of 306.63 kilometres. Drivers will do battle over 70, 4.381km laps, which feature two DRS Zones situated between turns one and two, and the start/finish straight.
Last year’s race was won by Lewis Hamilton, with Max Verstappen finishing second and Bottas claiming third.
The weather for this weekend is looking rather menacing with rain being forecast for both Saturday and Sunday.
Value Bet
Daniel Ricciardo – Podium Finish – Yes @ 12/1
There’s too much on offer here for me not to have a crack. Ricciardo finished fifth out in England and has a decent record in Hungary having finished on the podium in 2015 and 2016 and won it in 2014.
I’ll be having a small crack on the Australian in hopes of a big return for a minimal investment.
To Win Race Outright
Max Verstappen 19/20
You simply cannot go against the current Drivers’ Championship leader at the Hungaroring.
While Hamilton has the form at the track – the ‘Brit has won the last three Grand Prix at the Hungaroring – Verstappen has produced some really handy drives here finishing second in the last two races. He also had an amazing drive here last year and took that second place despite starting seventh on the grid.
