The Max Verstappen victory tour continues on to Hungary, where Formula 1 drivers will descend upon Hungaroring for the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix. Verstappen has won six straight races, but other teams like McLaren and Mercedes are starting to work their way up the field in the hopes of challenging Verstappen and Red Bull at the front of the grid. Is this the week Verstappen gets dethroned? Let’s dive into Formula 1 picks, odds and predictions for the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Best Formula 1 Picks & Predictions | Hungary Grand Prix
Check out current Hungarian Grand Prix podium and outright odds via BetMGM:
Hungaroring is a somewhat polarizing track. Unsurprisingly, top drivers who have won there tend to love it, while others see it as too slow. It features quite a few sharp turns and hairpins as well as a couple chicanes, so the high-speed sections tend to not last as long as they do at other tracks. With that in mind, let’s take a look at who has found success at the track and who could do so in 2023.
How Did Past Races Shake Out?
The first thing to note about the Hungarian Grand Prix is that qualifying has been dominated by Mercedes for half a decade now. The last time a non-Mercedes driver took pole was in 2017 when Sebastian Vettel did so for Ferrari — Lewis Hamilton then qualified first in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, and George Russell won pole last year. That said, the winner of the grand prix has been a bit more varied. Hamilton held on to win from pole in 2018, 2019 and 2020, but a series of bizarre sequences allowed Esteban Ocon to win the race in 2021, and Max Verstappen went from 10th to first last year. Hamilton finished second in both of those non-winning years.
It was not a great qualifying day for Red Bull at the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix, with Verstappen and Sergio Perez starting 10th and 11th. But grand prix day has been kind to Red Bull for two years running, and both moved well up the grid come Sunday — Verstappen to first, Perez to fifth.
As for other top teams, Ferrari had solid qualifying performances last year from Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, who started second and third. However, strategy issues and lack of pace placed them fourth and sixth come race day. McLaren and Alpine had all of their drivers qualify top 9, and Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso and Ocon all held onto top-9 places when the race was over; only Daniel Ricciardo fell out of the points.
What to Expect From Hungary in 2023?
With Hamilton earning three podiums in the last four grands prix this year, he has a good shot to remain in contention for a top spot again. But that means he is a strong candidate to place second — Verstappen is the only option for an outright bet at this point, as he has won six straight races. Last week was the closest the second-place finisher has been to Verstappen in those six as well, with Norris crossing the line only 3.798 seconds behind Verstappen; and that is still not all that close.
Verstappen going from 10th to first last year also shows that the rocket ship that is the current Red Bull can do incredible things at Hungaroring. Barring major issues in qualifying or on race day, Verstappen winning is the most likely outcome, and him doing so by close to double digits is a reasonable expectation as well.
Hamilton and Russell are strong podium bets given their recent results and Mercedes’ history of dominance at this track. Norris placed seventh last year, but he qualified fourth, and given his consecutive top-4 performances this season, he could be in podium consideration as well. Ferrari is coming off a tough British Grand Prix where Leclerc and Sainz placed ninth and 10th, respectively, but prior to that, the results were decent. Plus, last year’s qualifying shows that Ferrari can have strong one-lap pace. If the team maintains good strategy (which has been touch and go this year, but occasionally has been excellent), there is no reason Ferrari cannot push for podium spots.
The big question marks are what to make of Perez and Alonso. Perez continues to flame out of qualifying, having failed to make Q3 in five straight races. The races, however, have been solid, as the Red Bull car has helped him move up to respectable finishes each time; Perez placed top 6 in four of those five weekends in which he missed Q3. Alonso, meanwhile, is putting in decent results, only not to the level where he was at the start of the season. After making the podium in five of the first six grands prix, he has only made one in the last four, placing seventh twice. His recent Hungarian Grand Prix results are decent, as he placed eighth, eighth and fourth in his last three starts here. It does not match Hamilton’s recent past at Hungaroring, however, so the Mercedes cars remain the better podium bets.
