Lewis Hamilton's hopes of regaining ground in this year's Formula One drivers' world championship suffered a smoky hit on Saturday when his Mercedes car burst into flames in the opening minutes of qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The fire, at the rear of his car, ruled him out of contention for pole position without clocking a time.
He parked the car at the pit lane entry in front of a group of marshals who put the fire out as Hamilton walked dejectedly with his head down towards the team garage.
The fire came seven days after Hamilton was the victim of a high-speed brakes failure at the German GP that wrecked his hopes of claiming a first pole in seven races at one of his most-favoured circuits.
In Budapest, it was the second car to catch fire this weekend. Fellow-Briton Max Chilton of Marussia was hit by a similar blaze during practice on Friday.
Hamilton is 14 points behind Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in the title race and Saturday's setback handed his rival a potential gift of pole for the third time in four races.
The 29-year-old Briton made a judgment error and pitted in the final minutes of qualifying at the British GP, followed by his high-speed crash at Hockenheim last weekend.
"I've got fire guys," said Hamilton to his team by radio when the fire started in practice.
"Go the marshals," they replied. "The car won't stop," Hamilton responded. "Jump out! Jump out!"
Hamilton was unhurt. The team issued a brief comment on Twitter: "We are analysing the data to understand what happened with @LewisHamilton's car and why".
Unlike Hockenheim, the slow and twisty Hungaroring is very difficult for overtaking and will make it almost impossible for Hamilton, who will start at the back of the grid, or pit-lane, to fight his way through the field - unless it rains.
Hamilton was not the first driver to be eliminated on Saturday with Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado of Lotus having already pulled up without registering a time in the first minute.
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