F1 Hungarian Grand Prix prediction: Mercedes eye strong showing but Lando Norris must convert

Lewis Hamilton is targeting back-to-back wins this weekend as the Formula One grid rolls into Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix (2pm Sunday, Sky Sports Main Event).

The Mercedes driver secured his first victory in 31 months at Silverstone and his Mercedes team are eyeing their third win in a row in a surprising and sudden upturn in form.

Yet Max Verstappen, the favourite to secure his fourth-straight F1 world championship this year, is desperate to return to winning ways. The Dutchman has an 84-point lead in the standings at the halfway stage of the season.

And what about McLaren and Ferrari? Lando Norris has endured a frustrating few races on the cusp of more victories while Charles Leclerc had a triple-header to forget with Ferrari’s pace plummeting compared to their rivals.

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F1 Hungarian Grand Prix betting tips

• George Russell on pole position – 5/1 Bet365
• Oscar Piastri, top-three finish – 7/5 William Hill
• F1 Hungarian Grand Prix tip: Lando Norris to win the race – 7/2 Betway

F1 Hungarian Grand Prix prediction: Back Mercedes for pole position

Despite a torrid few years for the former titans of the sport, Mercedes have enjoyed success at the Hungaroring in recent years – particularly in qualifying on Saturday (3pm BST).

George Russell claimed his first pole position in Formula One in 2022 while Hamilton also set the quickest lap in qualifying last year, for what was a first pole since December 2021.

Yet, noticeably, on both occasions, the Silver Arrows failed to turn the top spot on the grid into a race victory, with Verstappen usurping them.

This weekend, betting sites have Russell as the third-favourite – behind Verstappen and Norris – to claim pole position, with Hamilton a tad behind him as the fourth-favourite.

Mercedes, as well as their success on race-day in recent weeks, have flourished in qualifying too, most recently at Silverstone.

Russell qualified on pole at his home race two weeks ago with Hamilton in second in an unexpected one-two grid spot for Toto Wolff’s team.

Can Mercedes keep up the momentum in Budapest this weekend? Their performance in qualifying will be vital.

F1 Hungarian Grand Prix prediction 1: George Russell on pole position – 5/1 Bet365

F1 Hungarian Grand Prix betting tip: Oscar Piastri to finish on the podium

The Australian driver, now in his second season with McLaren alongside Norris, has endured some bad luck in the last few races.

In Austria, a qualifying lap deletion due to (narrowly) exceeding the track limits demoted him from third to seventh on the timesheet, though he did eventually finish second in the race after Verstappen and Norris’ collision.

And at Silverstone a fortnight ago, Piastri was leading the race and showing superior speed to team-mate Norris before McLaren opted to pit him a lap later than the other frontrunners; a move which cost Piastri first place and saw him drop down the order.

McLaren have the pace – particularly on a Sunday – to convert their close challenges to Verstappen and Mercedes into more race wins. Currently, they only have one victory to show for their season, which was back in May with Norris’ inaugural F1 victory.

Piastri, who did win a sprint race in Qatar last season, is still chasing his first grand prix victory and should be challenging for a podium spot this weekend.

The 23-year-old should be buoyed, too, by recently overtaking Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in the driver standings. He is now fifth, six points ahead of the Mexican.

F1 Hungarian Grand Prix prediction 2: Oscar Piastri, top-three finish – 7/5 William Hill

F1 Hungarian Grand Prix tip: Lando Norris to win Sunday’s grand prix

Surely this Sunday is the one where it all falls into place for Norris and McLaren?

The British driver, now challenging at the top consistently, has experienced a number of near-misses in recent weeks. In Spain, Austria and Silverstone, Norris has been right on the tail of the lead – and in Silverstone gained the lead – but could not come home in first.

Now armed with machinery which can compete with Red Bull – and a car regularly quicker than Ferrari and Mercedes – Norris needs to start claiming victories if he wants to cut Verstappen’s 84-point lead over the remaining 12 races of the season.

Hungary this weekend would be a perfect place to start, ahead of Belgium next week (the final race before the F1 summer break).

Norris finished second to Verstappen last year and memorably broke Verstappen’s first-place trophy with his wild celebrations on the podium. The Brit will hope he is the one hearing his national anthem this time round come Sunday afternoon.

F1 Hungarian Grand Prix prediction 3: Lando Norris to win the race – 7/2 Betway

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