Lewis Hamilton failed to qualify in the top 10 for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as team-mate George Russell condemned him to a Q2 exit.
Hamilton was left worried about his chances in qualifying this weekend after a dismal day on Friday. "We have had difficult qualifying sessions this year and getting out of Q1 and into Q2 has always been a tough battle, and getting into Q3 is a challenge," he warned.
"The work tomorrow is to try and get into Q3. But it is going to be close." And close it proved to be as Hamilton was knocked out in Q2 by going just 11th fastest, agonisingly close to reaching the top 10.
For a while he was hovering on the edge of the danger zone and looked like he might have survived. But there was still one car left on track on a flying lap at the end of Q2 - his Mercedes team-mate Russell.
His fellow Brit had to make sure he booked his own place in Q3. And he did exactly that with a strong lap, but the unfortunate side-effect for Mercedes was that it meant Hamilton would play no further part.
The seven-time world champion may have expected a tough evening at the Yas Marina Circuit, but that did not make him sound any less despondent over the radio after the bad news had been delivered to him.
"There's something not right with this car, man," he lamented to his race engineer Peter Bonnington. Fortunately, it was the last qualifying session Hamilton will ever have to complete with the temperamental Mercedes W14.
Catch all the action from Formula One on Sky Sports and get exclusive access to races, qualifying and much more for every Grand Prix. From Max Verstappen to Lewis Hamilton, you won't miss a lap on Sky Sports.
Russell fared better by qualifying fourth. And he was slightly surprised to have reached such a high grid slot, admitting after the session that he has been battling illness this week while coughing through his interview.
Lando Norris looked likely to challenge Max Verstappen for pole. But the McLaren driver made a mistake on his final flying lap in Q3 which meant he could only manage fifth while team-mate Oscar Piastri moved up to third.
Charles Leclerc managed the front row but no-one could stop Verstappen from taking his 12th pole of the season. Sergio Perez looked like he had done enough to knock Leclerc down to third place but his final lap was later deleted and the Mexican relegated to ninth on the grid.