Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying: Hamilton flies in the rain

The cars took to the track under black clouds, threatening heavy rain on an already damp track.

It meant plenty of guesswork about the appropriate tyres to begin the session on as the rumbles of thunder rolled over the Hungaroring.

Carlos Sainz and Renault made the early decision to work with a dry track, and topped the timings up until five minutes from the end as everyone else followed suit and flew off into their hot laps.

Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari led the table, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen second fastest - in comparison to his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo who only managed P12 while on soft tyres, for some reason.

It was a shocker for Force India - newly in administration - who saw both drivers drop out without reaching Q2.

Vettel started on intermediates, everyone else went out on softs or ultras as the rain began again.

And everyone else was quick to realise their strategic error as the precipitation worsened.

Lance Stroll came off the track at Turn 9, sliding off on to the wet grass, crashing into a barrier and losing his Williams's front wing - but he did manage to return to the course. Nobody managed a particularly great time because of the worsening conditions - Ferrari will have been feeling very smug.

"Do you think we should go to new inters or wets?" McLaren asked Fernando Alonso over the radio.

"I think we should go to the garage," he replied, positive that he wouldn't be able to improve his placing during such soggy weather. "Even if we had a rocket ship, we would be eleventh."

The downpour continued, but Mercedes were much better equipped this time, matching the Ferrari pace.

Sainz was still looking quick, going P3 with two minutes of the session left, but got knocked down by the Mercedes duo clocking the quickest laps of the day, and securing a one-two for Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas respectively. Still, the Renault managed to equal his best-ever start, grabbing P5.

The rain made for an interesting spectacle - and surprisingly despite a few yellow flags being waved for track obstacles, the session wasn't interrupted. Tyre strategy played a huge role and has definitely mixed up the expected grid.

Force India's early exit in Q1 was a surprise, albeit in a week of upheaval for the team. They'll be ready to progress through the pack in more settled conditions tomorrow.

Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley was very impressive for Toro Rosso, making it quietly to Q3 and securing good starting places - Gasly ahead of Verstappen of the Red Bull senior team.

Verstappen - Vettel - Hamilton