Flooding and more damage to McLaren’s motorhome after heavy rain in Budaptest
The rain predicted by the Hungarian weather forecast for the weekend finally fell on the Hungaroring. McLaren, who had just replaced their motorhome at Silverstone, suffered further damage to the roof.
This week already, the Hungarian weather forecast had announced the possibility of rain in the country during the Grand Prix at the Hungaroring. While rain was expected in a few days, it finally fell on the paddock during the night.
The particularly violent weather conditions caused damage to McLaren’s new motorhome, which had just been replaced.
A fire in Spain
McLaren was once again hit by damage to their motorhome in Hungary, this time the damage is the result of severe weather conditions in the Hungaroring paddock. While the team had just repaired their hospitality center, which was previously damaged in Spain, they must now face a new reconstruction.
During the Spanish Grand Prix, a fire broke out in McLaren’s motorhome, requiring an emergency evacuation of the drivers and the team just before the third Free Practice session. While the damages seemed significant, the team managed to recover their motorhome for the British Grand Prix, only two weeks after the incident.
The strong winds that started yesterday ripped off the roof of McLaren’s motorhome, while a big screen at the entrance of the pit lane was taken down. In total, 20cm of water flooded the paddock.
PADDOCK STORM DAMAGE#mclarenF1 can’t take a trick. Having just got their fire-damaged motorhome repaired in time for the Silverstone race, yesterday the roof was ripped off by storm winds. It was ripped off on Monday night as well.
And a large video screen at the entrance to… pic.twitter.com/WO1P7LG9Zu
— Kym Illman (@KymIllman) July 18, 2024
More difficulties for the race
The Hungarian Grand Prix, which was already expected to suffer from high temperatures, will now have to get used to the storm that occurred on Wednesday. Preparations at the Hungaroring have been severely disrupted. Rain, hail, lightning, and strong winds caused flooding in the pit lane and damaged several facilities.
A similar situation had occurred at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in 2023, which had caused its cancellation. Fortunately, despite extensive material damage, no injuries were reported.
