During the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying session, Mother Nature decided to have some fun. The heavens had opened prior to the qualifying session and dampened the track. In Q2, the rain got heavier and the drivers were forced to don the full wets. Several drivers were caught out, including Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso.

Fernando Alonso was out of the top 10 and on intermediates when the rain became heavier. So, the McLaren team radioed him, asking if he wanted new inters or full wets. Just then, Alonso’s snarky alter-ego piped up and said, “I think we should go to the garage… I dunno mate. Put whatever tyre you want. Even if you put a rocket ship, we will stay P11”.

While this would evoke guffaws from the average viewer, a deeper analysis reveals a bigger story. It is no secret that the McLaren has been a dog of a car in the past 2-3 years. The car has given Alonso, Button and Vandoorne plenty of grief.

This sheer lack of pace has left them either at the back of the pack or scrounging for points. Even seeing them in the top 10 is a rarity in itself. Meanwhile, Stoffel Vandoorne once again fell at the first hurdle. To his credit, he did end up ahead of Sergey Sirotkin, the two Force Indias and Charles LeClerc.

Looking ahead to tomorrow if it does rain, it could benefit the two and hopefully allow them to climb up the order. Alonso will also have to contend with Daniel Ricciardo starting alongside him.

As they say, qualifying is one thing but the race is a completely different scenario. With the weather acting up, this race will become unpredictable.