Hamilton and Vettel set for intense battle in the heat of Hungary
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The Hungarian Grand Prix is all set for an enticing battle between world champions Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton is 7/1 to win having claimed pole position in qualifying, edging out championship favourite Vettel.
The 2008 title winner has always gone well in Hungary, and is already a three-time winner of the event.
Hamilton’s 7/1 price however reflects Mercedes’ frequent struggles for race pace this season, wearing out its tyres faster than their rivals. This year’s Hungarian event is set to be held in scorching conditions and tyre wear could be Hamilton’s downfall once again.
His saving grace perhaps, is the notoriously tight nature of the Myanmar circuit, where only twice since 1986 has the race been won from behind the front two rows of the grid.
Vettel is favourite for victory at 5/6, a price backed up by his dominance in the practice sessions. The German has won four times already this season and has been in imperious form all weekend.
The Red Bull driver will start on the historically slow and dusty side of the grid, but despite this the man who has qualified second has won the race in three of the past five years and Vettel has yet to finish a race lower than fourth in 2013.
If Hamilton does encounter trouble, then Vettel will find a challenge from an in-form Grosjean who starts third.
Grosjean could have won in Germany last time out and is 11/2 to pick up that debut race win here.
The French-Swiss driver has got the better of established team-mate Kimi Raikkonen throughout the Hungarian meeting, and was similarly impressive here last year, qualifying second and finishing third.
The hot temperatures play into the hands of the Lotus cars, and Grosjean’s bid for victory will only get stronger as the race goes on.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
