Sergio Perez could only swear and punch his car in frustration after being told he had suffered another embarrassing qualifying howler.
On Tuesday, it was announced that Red Bull had handed the Mexican a new two-year contract extension. But on Saturday he failed to reward that faith shown in him as he suffered a qualifying Q1 exit for the second race weekend in a row at the Canadian Grand Prix.
The surface at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is brand new and wet weather in Montreal meant the track was especially green. That meant it was ramping up all the time throughout Q1 with times getting quicker and quicker with each lap.
Perez was one of the first to complete his final flying lap which put him in danger. And his worst fears were realised as Alex Albon was the last across the line in that part of the session and was quick enough to condemn Perez to a spot in the bottom five.
It means the 34-year-old will start Sunday's race 16th on the grid. And that's just two weeks after a similarly poor qualifying performance saw Perez managed to only go 18th fastest around the streets of Monaco.
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When the driver's new contract was renewed this week, team principal Christian Horner backed him to deliver the results needed of the defending F1 champions. He said: "Now is an important time to confirm our line-up for 2025 and we are very pleased to continue working together with Checo.
"Continuity and stability are important for the team and both Checo and Max are a successful and robust partnership, securing our first ever one-two finish for the team in the championship last year. Checo has had a strong start to 2024 with second places in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Japan and then his podium in China.
"The past few races have been tough, there is convergence on the grid, but we are confident in Checo and look forward to his return to proven form and performance, that we so often see. Last year was a unicorn season and we will need to work hard to retain our titles, but we are assured in our line up and with the team as a whole, which is imperative in what is shaping up to be a close-fought championship this year."
Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 F1 champion, was one of those who criticised the decision to hand Perez and extension. He said ahead of this weekend's action: "He has had his worst season ever at Red Bull. Normally he would have an amazing first few races, but he hasn't even had that this year.
"So, he's collapsed on top of that! He was already behind Max at the start of the season and now he's dropped another half a second. That is 10 cars on the grid. I don't know what is going on."
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