Fernando Alonso says his desperate solo attempt to push his broken-down McLaren back to the pits is proof that his enthusiasm for the sport has not been dampened.
Alonso's McLaren stopped on track in the second phase of qualifying after he suffered a battery failure within his Honda power unit.
The Spaniard leapt out of his McLaren and began pushing his car back to the garage in a bid to post a time with just seven minutes of the session remaining.
In sizzling heat approaching 35 degrees on the thermometer , Alonso was joined by a handful of marshals to assist his one-man mission.
But his heroic efforts were in vain, with the regulations dictating that a driver can take no further part in qualifying if his car stops on the circuit.
Alonso, who will now start Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix in 15th, one place ahead of his team-mate Jenson Button, said: 'I want to be out there, I want to race and this shows how much I love my sport.
"It doesn't matter if you are last or you are 15th or in pole position. They told me when I arrived at the garage that it wasn't possible because of the regulations and I didn't know that.''
The image of Alonso single- handedly wheeling his McLaren back to the pits was a depressing sight, but one that may come to define the British team's troubled campaign.
Hopes had been high heading into qualifying after Alonso posted the eighth quickest lap on Saturday morning, with Button only two tenths adrift of his team-mate.
But the Briton also fell foul of McLaren's lack of reliability after an ERS failing left him short of power and he fell at the first qualifying hurdle.
Yet both drivers, whose spirits have not been deterred despite a trying season, were in jovial form once more here.
When Alonso was asked where he may have qualified had he enjoyed a reliability-free session, he shrugged his shoulders and said: "13th."
Button was then asked the same question. With a smile on his face, he joked: "12th" to which Alonso hastily changed his answer to "11th". Button had the final say. "Maybe Q3," he said."
Source: PA
