Motorsports Betting News This Month | Can Anyone Catch The Favourites? | August 2026

By Seb Blasco, Updated on: Aug 11, 2026

The biggest betting storylines this month

Formula 1: Hungarian GP recap and Dutch GP preview

Norris and McLaren were in a class of their own over in Hungary. Norris started from pole, lost the lead to Piastri on the opening lap and then regained control. Piastri’s retirement removed the final internal threat, leaving Norris to finish more than 15 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen.

Antonelli took third after another damage-limitation drive. Lewis Hamilton briefly looked set for a podium, but Ferrari pitted him during a late Virtual Safety Car. A five-second pit-lane speeding penalty then dropped him behind Charles Leclerc in the final classification.

The championship is no longer the tight three-driver fight it appeared to be after Austria. Antonelli has rebuilt his cushion and now holds a two-race points advantage over Hamilton. Russell is still in the best car on the grid, but his recent results have sent his futures price drifting.

Constructors Championship

Mercedes also leads the Constructors’ Championship with 379 points, with Ferrari in second on 307, followed by McLaren on 220. A 72-point advantage is healthy, but there are still 12 Grands Prix remaining, and Hungary showed that Mercedes does not have the fastest package at every type of circuit.

Dutch GP preview

F1 does not return until the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort from August 21 to 23.

As it stands, Antonelli is the early race favourite at roughly +188, with Hamilton at +400, Norris at +450, Leclerc at +550, Russell at +750 and Verstappen at +900.

Those prices underline the difference between the race and championship markets. Antonelli is dominating the title odds, but bookmakers do not expect him to cruise to victory every weekend.

Norris is the name to watch after Hungary with McLaren’s upgrade working immediately, and Zandvoort’s corners could give the team another chance to challenge Mercedes and Ferrari. Verstappen will also attract support at his home race, although his +900 price reflects a Red Bull that has not consistently matched the leaders this season.

NASCAR: Hamlin builds a cushion, Iowa up next

The NASCAR points race did not flip at Indianapolis, rather... it stretched in favour of Hamlin. 

Hamlin finished fifth and Reddick came home 10th, increasing the gap at the top from 68 points to 84. Blaney remains third, but he is now 120 points behind Hamlin. Ty Gibbs is fourth and has joined Hamlin, Reddick and Blaney in officially clinching a Chase place.

Heim won the Brickyard 400 by 0.287 seconds over Bell. Joey Logano finished third and Chase Briscoe took fourth. Heim led 58 laps on the way to his second Cup victory, strengthening his reputation as one of the strongest young drivers in the field.

The In-Season Challenge also ended at Indianapolis, although not in the way most bettors would have expected. Todd Gilliland won the $1 million tournament by finishing 24th, two positions ahead of finalist Blaney after Blaney was caught in a multicar crash. It was a perfect example of how bracket markets can produce results that have little to do with the actual race winner.

Hamlin’s lead matters for more than the regular-season trophy. Under the returning Chase system, the regular-season champion begins the final 10 races with a 25-point advantage over the second seed. That makes every point valuable, even for drivers who have already secured their postseason places.

Iowa preview

The Cup Series returns on Sunday August 9th in Iowa, in the first of four races remaining before the Chase field is set.
We fully expect the teams to emphasize tire management, track position and short-oval speed in Iowa, particularly for Hamlin who does not need to chase risky victories at this stage.

As long as he keeps Reddick behind him, he’ll be in an advantageous position for the final three regular-season races.

MotoGP: Márquez charges back, Silverstone awaits

It looks set to be a grandstand finish in MotoGP, with the top five separated by only 24 points. Martin leads with 208 points,Ogura is second on 194, Márquez has 190, Bezzecchi sits on 186 and Di Giannantonio has 184.

British GP Preview

MotoGP returns at Silverstone from August 7 to 9. The circuit is fast, flowing and far less specialized than the left-hand-heavy Sachsenring, so Márquez is unlikely to have the same built-in track advantage he enjoyed in Germany.

The pressure is on Martin to stop the points swing. He still leads the championship, but the outright market has moved heavily against him. A strong Silverstone result would remind bettors that he is leading for a reason. Another Márquez victory could send the Ducati rider’s futures price deep into odds-on territory.

Bezzecchi may have the biggest effect on the weekend’s betting board. A healthy return would restore another genuine race-winning threat. Any sign that his collarbone or knee is limiting him could push his championship odds longer and increase support for Márquez, Martin and Ogura.

You can follow Martin, Márquez and the rest of the field on our MotoGP betting page.

Futures market check: where we see the value

Here is where the main championship markets stand entering August.

Formula 1

• Kimi Antonelli: -400
• Lewis Hamilton: +600
• George Russell: +2000
• Charles Leclerc: +2200
• Lando Norris: +2500
• Max Verstappen: +4000

Antonelli is no longer a value play at his current number. Bettors backing him are paying for the points already in the bank. Hamilton is the only challenger close enough in the standings to justify a single-digit price, while Norris is the form-based long shot after McLaren’s breakthrough in Hungary.

Russell is difficult to assess. His +2000 price looks big for a driver in the championship-leading car, but he is 59 points behind his teammate and has lost momentum. He needs a strong Zandvoort weekend before the market starts taking him seriously again.

NASCAR

• Denny Hamlin: +160
• Tyler Reddick: +400
• Ryan Blaney: +650
• Kyle Larson: +800
• Christopher Bell: +1000
• Chase Elliott: +1200
• Chase Briscoe: +1400
• Ty Gibbs: +1400

Hamlin deserves to be favoured. He leads the standings, has four wins and is positioned to start the Chase with the No. 1 seed.

The question is whether +160 offers enough return in a 10-race format where one mechanical failure can erase a large chunk of the advantage.

Blaney may be the more interesting number at +650. He is unlikely to catch Hamlin during the regular season, but the Chase rewards performance across all 10 races. Larson at +800 still offers ceiling, although he has been far less consistent than the top three.

MotoGP

• Marc Márquez: -275
• Jorge Martin: +600
• Ai Ogura: +600
• Marco Bezzecchi: +700
• Fabio Di Giannantonio: +3300

This is where the standings and the market disagree most sharply. Márquez is 18 points behind Martin, yet the sportsbook is treating him as the dominant favorite.

The price is based on pace rather than position. Márquez has cut 84 points from his deficit in four rounds and was untouchable in Germany. Martin and Ogura both offer +600 despite beginning the second half ahead of him in the standings.

Bezzecchi would normally be attractive at +700, but the injury makes that price difficult to judge. His Friday practice pace and physical condition at Silverstone will tell bettors far more than any preseason projection.

Betting trends we’re watching right now

The F1 championship and race-winner markets are splitting apart. Antonelli is -400 to win the title but around +188 to win at Zandvoort. That is not a contradiction. His championship price is built around a 50-point cushion, while the race market reflects how closely matched Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren can be on a single weekend.

Norris is the driver most likely to attract recency-based support. McLaren looked excellent in Hungary, but one strong circuit does not guarantee that the upgrade will work everywhere. His matchup and podium prices may offer a safer way to back the improvement than taking +2500 on a championship comeback from 91 points behind.

NASCAR’s new Chase structure puts a premium on consistency. Hamlin’s regular-season lead gives him a head start, but it does not protect him from a bad run during the final 10 races. Futures bettors should place more weight on average finish, DNFs and performance across the Chase tracks than they would under an elimination format.

MotoGP remains the best market for major week-to-week price movement. With five riders separated by 24 points, one crash can reshape the entire board. Sprint races double the opportunities for those swings. A rider can gain or lose heavily before Sunday’s Grand Prix even begins.

What could move motorsports odds before next month

MotoGP will move first. The British Grand Prix takes place this weekend, and Márquez has an immediate chance to justify his odds-on price. Martin needs a clean weekend. Ogura needs to prove his Assen win and second place in Germany were not isolated results. Bezzecchi needs to show that he is fit enough to fight at the front.

NASCAR follows at Iowa on August 9. Hamlin can take another major step toward the regular-season title, while Reddick must stop the gap from growing. The drivers around the Chase cutline also have only four races left to qualify on points.

Formula 1 will stay quiet until August 21, when practice begins at Zandvoort. The break gives Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren time to study what happened in Hungary, although teams must observe the mandatory factory shutdown. When racing resumes, the Sprint format will put more points on the table immediately.

Antonelli remains in control. Hamlin has created breathing room. MotoGP has none at all.
That is the state of the three title races entering August.

Previous betting news updates

• [Augus 2026]: Norris wins in Hungary Grand Prix
• [June 2026]: Antonelli picks up fourth straight F1 GP victory
• [May 19]: Antonelli jumps ahead of Mercedes teammate Russell in F1 title lead
• [April 9-16]: Reddick’s top-5 finish places him into tie as top Cup Series favorite
• [March 22-29]: Marco Bezzecchi wins in Austin and jumps ahead of Marc Marquez

Meet the author

Seb Blasco

Seb Blasco has a background spanning journalism, sports betting, and filmmaking. After earning a degree in sports business with a focus on European football, he began his career as a sport betting analyst, working with major broadcasters and sports betting firms. More r...