A disgruntled-looking Toto Wolff cracked a joke after Mercedes' result in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying as he pointed out that it happened to also be World Toilet Day.
After an incredible result in Brazil, which saw George Russell win the race and Lewis Hamilton finish second, the gremlins appeared for Mercedes again. Their car setups left them a long way off the pace and they had to settle for fifth and sixth on the grid.
Reacting to that result, Wolff was clearly disappointed. "Today, I just heard, is World Toilet Day," he told Sky Sports with a smile. "So I think that result is one to put in the toilet. I think we just didn't get the job done.
"I think we went backwards and [Ferrari] made a little step forwards. We went on a high downforce, high drag concept in order for the race car for tomorrow. It was just so slow on the straights that it didn't give anything."
Asked if Mercedes had considered splitting car setups for Russell and Hamilton, Wolff replied: "Yeah, but then we had to believe that for the race it's better to have more downforce, to protect the tyres. Let's see.
"We have this odd brake split situation that practically every qualifying session we start a lap and the brakes split – that means the left is not doing what the right does, and that unsettles the car. It's a big one [to sort out] over the winter."
Meanwhile, the session was dominated by the Red Bulls and, in particular, Max Verstappen. So fast was the Dutchman in Q3 that he set two different lap times which were both more than fast enough to secure pole position.
Sergio Perez starts on the front row alongside him, after being given a tow by his team-mate on his final flying lap. That help from Verstappen will help Red Bull in their efforts to convince everyone that there is no bad blood between their drivers after their spat at the end of the race in Brazil.
Between the Red Bulls and the Mercedes cars on the grid for Sunday's race are the two Ferrari cars. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz put themselves in strong positions to help the Italian team hold off this late charge from Mercedes to secure second place in the championship.
