Daniel Ricciardo said a track limits penalty and a power issue which meant he was "bleeding lap time" were to blame for qualifying tenth for the British Grand Prix.
While Red Bull team-mate Daniil Kvyat qualified seventh, Ricciardo could only manage 10th and took to the radio on several occasions to complain about the lack of power.
Asked to explain what went wrong in qualifying, the Australian simply said: "Three centimetres of track abuse and a lack of power."
"The car's been OK to be honest; in terms of we haven't had any real fundamental problems. I think high speed's been good, we've just lacked some grip in low speed in particular - I think that's been more of our weakness this weekend. I've just been down on power compared to Dany [Kvyat]. We've been slower on the straights, yesterday we saw it and we thought it would be better or fixed today but I don't know if it's the fuel flow meter or something but I'm bleeding lap time on the straights which is pretty frustrating."
When asked how much power he was losing, he replied: "Enough ... It's pretty obvious!"
The stewards were clamping down on drivers exceeding the limits of the track at Copse and Club corners, something which caught Ricciardo out in Q3. He says the deleted time would have put him seventh on the grid and thinks there was barely anything in his transgression.
"I guess I was if I had three centimetres, but it got deleted but I was already up against the wall with that. It was put in place, so I guess I am not arguing with it, but it was a sniff and it cost me a lot in the end and that is what I am frustrated about. It wasn't a massive chunk so I guess from my side I didn't see it as a lap time gain, so at least if I compare my good lap, I still think it has reference but it has cost me three positions on the grid.
"[It was] just us being greedy, trying to use every last bit of the track. The more you use, the faster you can go... The wind has been tricky but I won't use that as an excuse. Even without wind we are still going to try every bit we can. I was frustrated because I thought I was still legal, so I was upset when they said my time was deleted. I saw the reply and it was very close, but if you are being strict then I guess I was three centimetres over.
"At the end of the day I don't really disagree with the track limits, I think it's fine. At least there is a right and a wrong so I don't really disagree with it. I think they need to put a deterrent there. I think they need either more gravel or AstroTurf or something but it is what it is. I can't really blame anyone else."