Sebastian Vettel could not hide his despair as he reacted to a disastrous qualifying result ahead of Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix.
The German has three races remaining in his Formula 1 career, and would no doubt like to go out in a blaze of glory. He was looking well placed to do exactly that, considering a stellar performance at the United States Grand Prix last weekend.
Vettel finished eighth in Austin, but that was in spite of a disastrous pit stop which left him stationary for almost 20 seconds. He produced some of his best racing in years to make his way back up into the points, including an outrageous last-lap overtake on Kevin Magnussen.
But this weekend promises to be much less exciting for fans of the four-time world champion. On the high-altitude circuit in Mexico City, the Aston Martin cars look a shadow of themselves from just a few days ago, and their lack of pace in practice carried over to qualifying as well.
Lance Stroll went out in Q1 and will start from the back row owing to a three-place grid penalty for his crash with Fernando Alonso last weekend. And Vettel did not fare much better, also failing to make it past the first part of the session to put himself 16th on the grid.
The disappointment in his voice was heard loud and clear as he took to team radio when his session came to a premature end. "I can't believe it man, we're so slow!" he groaned after being told he had been knocked out of qualifying.
"It's a done deal, we're out?" he then questioned. When told that it was confirmed, Vettel simply muttered: "F**k." And then he added: "We're so slow, it's unbelievable. But thanks for fixing the brakes, they were a lot better."
Despite clearly being in a bad mood after that session, it appears the German is not willing to let this weekend pass him by without a fight. While aiming to sneak into the points would only be natural, he appeared to suggest he may have a small chance of challenging the front-runners if things go his way.
"Things did not look very promising in FP3 this morning, but we hoped we could take a step forward for qualifying. But that was not the case: we struggled for grip and overall balance – the car would not behave in certain corners," the 35-year-old said.
"I know from past experience that the podium here is incredible – but that is a long shot right now. But who knows? I am always hopeful that we can do something special in the race tomorrow."
