Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has branded his team’s performance in qualifying for the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix the worst session in a decade.
Lewis Hamilton ended qualifying seventh-fastest, one spot up from team-mate George Russell.
The pair were beaten by both Alpines but more worrying was the deficit to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
The Dutchman recorded a 1:43.665s to go fastest in the final phase of the three-part session, more than 1.8s faster than Hamilton.
“You can’t be on pole three weeks before, albeit for very different conditions, different track, and then be 1.8s off the pace at the next one,” Wolff observed.
“So there’s something which we totally don’t understand, or seem to get right.
“Clearly, Red Bull is here in a league of their own, as the next Ferrari is 0.8s off, but that is no consolation.
“It’s for me the worst qualifying session that I had in 10 years,” he added.
“Irrespective of what positions we’re going to start tomorrow, being on pole the previous weekend and three weeks later being nowhere, it’s just not acceptable for ourselves.”
Due to a spate of grid penalties, Hamilton will line up fourth, alongside Fernando Alonso on the second row, with Russell fifth.
It’s a performance that comes in the face of renewed optimism heading into the weekend.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Hamilton suggested a victory before the end of the season was a distinct possibility.
That followed a strong run before the summer break for Mercedes, which enjoyed two successive double podiums in France and Hungary.
Instead, the team is without an explanation for its lack of pace in Spa-Francorchamps.
“If we would understand, we could tune it,” Wolff reasoned.
“But the car is draggy in a straight line; Lewis said it was like dragging a parachute behind him.
“It is unstable on the rear, it understeers through [Turns] 8 and 9, it bounces through the high-speed and gives no confidence.
“There is not a positive that I heard about how the car performs here this weekend and throughout the weekend.
“So I think now it’s time to consolidate and decide what to do next year.”
Hamilton shared Wolff’s pessimism after he too was left struggling to understand the situation.
“I never thought it would be two seconds off. It is way, way worse than I thought,” Hamilton said.
“It doesn’t make sense but that’s it, we tried everything.
“I put everything on and put everything off, changed wings, changed set-up, I’ve done everything this weekend.
“I’ve tried a lot of things and it is surprising to see us [so far off].
“Maybe they’ve moved forward, I don’t know if they’ve got upgrades or not, but it is difficult.”
The Belgian Grand Prix gets underway at 23:00 AEST this evening.