Our F1 Insider expects Ferrari to dominate Saturday's qualifying ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Kimi Raikkonen to qualify fastest at 16/1 e.w. (1/5 1,2,3)
The Ferrari is the class of the field at present thanks to a mysterious element of their electrical energy deployment system that even their rivals don't fully understand. Lead driver Sebastian Vettel revelled in the technology, dominating all but the final 16 laps of the entire German Grand Prix weekend, his agonising skid on a wet track cruelly losing him the championship lead to eventual winner Lewis Hamilton. The characteristics of the Hungaroring circuit should bring the Red Bulls back into play this weekend but the Ferrari's traction and acceleration means it should still be the car to beat, at least in qualifying. Vettel is the obvious favourite but it's difficult to justify team-mate Kimi Raikkonen being eight times the German's price to take pole position. Renault are still unable to provide a competitive qualifying mode for Red Bull, while the lack of high-speed corners should trouble Mercedes. With each-way terms featuring three places, the 16/1 on Raikkonen qualifying fastest looks a fair bet.
Nico Hulkenberg to finish in the top 6 at 13/8
Nico Hulkenberg's form figures so far in 2018 read: 7, 6, 6, R, R, 8, 7, 9, R, 6, 5. A four-from-eleven strike rate looks par for the course for a 13/8 shot but the works Renault's benign aerodynamics and impressive traction out of slow corners should see the Hungaroring prove especially fertile territory for Hulkenberg and his stablemate Carlos Sainz. Their likely challengers will be Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, drivers of a Haas car far more suited to the long straights seen at the last four circuits visited than to this sinuous Budapest track. Sainz can be expected to go well too but the experienced German leads the Spaniard 7-4 in their qualifying head-to-head, a stat which carries extra weight around a circuit on which overtaking is so difficult.
Posted at 0910 BST on 26/07/18; selections at best available price via oddschecker.com
Weekend Schedule & TV Guide
All times BST
Friday July 27
1000: Practice One
1400: Practice Two
Saturday July 28
1100: Practice Three
1400: Qualifying
Sunday July 29
1410: Race
TV Coverage
You can watch all the sessions of the Hungarian GP weekend live on Sky Sports F1
Race winner, pre-weekend:
Click here for all of Sky Bet's Hungarian Grand Prix odds