Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso both felt they fell well short of McLaren's best in Baku after early eliminations in qualifying for the Grand Prix of Europe.
Button failed to progress from Q1, blaming a costly lock-up and spin at the Turn 15 run-off area and the decision not to pit for fresh rubber afterwards for his lowly 19th finish. The Briton was heard swearing on the radio after a mistake on his next attempt and he said that was because he failed to convert McLaren's impressive weekend pace into a better grid position.
"The reaction I had on the radio? I had been seventh and eighth all weekend, so that result was a bit unexpected," Button said. "I locked up in Turn 15 - we pit new brakes on for qualifying but we always do that - and that was it, really ... I'm not sure we're that quick but we're certainly not 19th. There was traffic, of course, but we should have known it and I should have put new tyres when I came in.
"We thought we had more of a margin than that. I had a flat spot, I had done a donut with those tyres - not ideal - but we didn't put new tyres so we'll have some fun tomorrow."
Alonso was eliminated in Q2 and said traffic was to blame for not progressing to the top-ten shootout, with the Spaniard having to settle for 14th on the grid.
"I think we didn't have the pace to be in Q3 anyway, but not P14 either. I think we've been a little bit unlucky with the traffic, out of sequence with the cars around us.
"They were doing the first timed laps, we were doing the second. So we found ourselves always passing two or three cars in their slow laps. If it happened once, OK you accept it and it's the way it is, but it happened all the laps in Q1, all the laps in Q2 so probably we could do a little bit better job next time."