Hungarian Grand Prix 2024 Predictions: Verstappen to return to winning ways?

We’ve seen some wild weather battering the pit crews in Hungary ahead of this weekend’s Formula One Grand Prix, but fortunately, Sunday’s forecast is dry and bright for the race. Qualifying may be a wet one in Budapest on Saturday, but we should still be in for a cracking weekend of racing. 

Below you can find my Hungarian Grand Prix 2024 predictions, as Mercedes look to make it three wins on the bounce.

Max Verstappen to win the race @ 5/6

After two consecutive races without a win, this is absolutely the perfect time to back Verstappen to return to winning ways in my eyes. After a major disappointment in Austria, the Red Bull driver finished just 1.4 seconds behind race winner Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone, and there is clearly still pace in that car. 

Verstappen is still the best driver on the grid, and he holds an 84-point lead over Lando Norris in the Drivers’ Championship. It is important for the sport that he doesn’t just win every single race, as seemed to be the case last year, and the British drivers are performing well right now. However, he has won the last two Hungarian Grands Prix without starting on pole, and it is clearly a track he relishes. 

I’m backing Verstappen to win yet again in Budapest.

Lando Norris podium finish @ 4/6

This might not be a particularly ambitious pick, but I do believe there is still some value in backing McLaren’s Lando Norris to finish in the top three. Lewis Hamilton rightly took all of the plaudits after his unlikely win at his home Grand Prix, but Norris has been putting in consistent performances for over a month now. 

Norris took third at Silverstone after a disastrous weekend in Austria, but prior to that he finished second behind Verstappen in Canada and Spain. Lando is clearly an elite performer this season and McLaren have made massive progress to compete at the top of the order. He should be there or thereabouts again, and another top three finish is certainly a distinct possibility in Hungary.

George Russell to be on pole @ 9/2

An outside shout to finish off with, and one I am less confident in than my other two selections. However, given the odds on offer, a small stake on George Russell to take pole is advised. Russell has shown decent pace over one lap recently, while his teammate transferred that into a race win at Silverstone. However, Russell has been the one-lap master, outperforming his team-mate in 10 out of the 12 qualifying sessions we have seen so far in 2024.

You don’t get the nickname ‘Mr Saturday’ if you aren’t able to get the maximum out of your car over one lap. He’s taken pole in two of the last four races, and the odds of him repeating what he did last time out at Silverstone are extremely generous, given the historical data backs up his performances.

Check out our other Formula One Betting Tips here.