Mercedes' Formula 1 team is in uncharted territory.
The team — which dominated the sport for eight years — finds itself miles off the front of the grid and with the prospect of another season scraping into the podium positions.
It has gotten so bad for the team that they released an open letter to fans, saying there were not going to panic.
Surely this is the clearest sign yet that this team has hit the panic button and, if things don't change dramatically, their dream of another world title could be further away than anyone thought.
It was 2022 that was supposed to be a reset year for the former champions, after Lewis Hamilton was denied a record eighth drivers' championship the year before.
They were not as fast as a Red Bull or Ferrari. They managed just one win through George Russell but, despite their struggles, they came close to finishing second in the constructors' championship.
Mercedes gained ground on Red Bull and Ferrari at the end of last season, and it was supposed to be business as usual in 2023.
It's not — it's worse.
And it has taken just one race for all of Mercedes' worst fears to be realised. They are not as fast as Red Bull or Ferrari and, frighteningly, they could be slower than Aston Martin.
There are alarm bells going off at Mercedes and their superstar driver is unhappy.
After the Bahrain Grand Prix — where Hamilton finished 50 seconds behind the winner, Max Verstappen — the British legend told the media his team had not listened to him during the preseason that the car was not fast.
"Last year, there were things I told them. I said the issues that are with the car," Hamilton told BBC Radio 5 Live's Chequered Flag podcast last week.
"I've driven so many cars in my life. I know what a car needs. I know what a car doesn't need. I think it's really about accountability.
"It's about owning up and saying, 'Yeah, you know what? We didn't listen to you. It's not where it needs to be and we've got to work'."
These are not the encouraging words any Mercedes fan wants to hear, and the team knows it.
In an open letter to their fans, they urged them to stick with the team:
Bahrain hurt. It hurt each one of us, who head into every season determined to fight for world championships. It hurt the team as a whole, after pouring so much hard work into a car that hasn't met our expectations. And we know it hurt you, our fans, too. Your passion and support are so important in driving us forward — and we know that we feel the same pain.
The letter then went on to say the team, "won't panic or make knee-jerk reactions".
"In a spotlight as fierce as F1, people are quick to point fingers, or look for scapegoats."
From the outside, this looks like a worrying sign for Mercedes.
They go into this weekend's Saudi Arabia Grand Prix fearing they are only the fourth-fastest team, with seemingly no ideas on how to get back to their best.
Last season there was a sense Mercedes would figure out their issues and be back winning races. To an extent, they did.
However, the expectation was that form would carry over into 2023. Now there is a fear they did all of that catch-up work last year, while Red Bull and Ferrari were worried about their 2023 cars.
Mercedes are at risk of falling into a state of catch-up, which is perilously hard to overcome.
Look at McLaren. They have one race win in 10 years. Look at Ferrari. They have had fewer wins in the past decade than Verstappen has had in the past two seasons.
Mercedes have seen great teams drop down the order and there is a fear they may be hovering over that trapdoor.
If they fall through, they run the risk of losing, arguably, F1's greatest driver.
Hamilton has said publicly that the performance of this year's car will not affect whether he signs a new contract with Mercedes.
However, if he cannot see himself winning another title with them, he will surely be looking at other options. There are already rumours he could look for a new team.
The next few races could have significant ramifications for the future of Mercedes F1.
If they can bounce back and show promise at this weekend's Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, then confidence will return.
However, if they have another outing as they did in round 1, those voices of dissent will grow louder, and the rumour mill will kick into overdrive.
