Lewis Hamilton's dream Ferrari Formula 1 move started so brightly with consistent enthusiasm and a (sprint) pole and race victory in only their second weekend together.
Even through the difficulties of the Melbourne strategy missteps and the double disqualification at the Chinese Grand Prix, a visibly re-energised Hamilton was buoyant about his start to life at Ferrari.
But that glorious honeymoon period arguably came to an end at Suzuka with Hamilton's bizarre claim of a "deficit" to Charles Leclerc, and that's been further compounded in Bahrain.
Hamilton admitted he's "just not doing the job" right now as he qualified ninth in Bahrain, and will start seven places behind team-mate Leclerc.
For the second weekend running, Hamilton has been the slower Ferrari driver, this time by a more significant margin than at Suzuka where he was three tenths slower in qualifying and three places behind in the race.
He had his first flying lap in Q3 deleted and after his final run was just short of six tenths slower than Leclerc.
Hamilton was clearly despondent on the way back to the pits after his final Q3 run, repeatedly shaking his head as race engineer Riccardo Adami informed him of how far off the pace he was.
Hamilton-Adami radio exchange at end of Q3
Hamilton: How far off am I?
Adami: Half a second, seven tenths to Russell, Russell did a 1m30.0s.
Hamilton: What position am I? P7?
Adami: P9.
Hamilton: What are sector times?
Adami: Half a tenth slower to Piastri first sector…
Hamilton: I’m sorry guys, sorry man. Really sorry.
Adami: Four tenths second sector, three tenths last sector.
When asked what he was apologising for after qualifying, Hamilton told Sky Sports F1: "Just about my performance. My poor performance.
"There are no reasons. I'm just not doing the job."
That bafflement continued when Hamilton spoke to media including The Race's Samarth Kanal.
To do it justice below you'll find a complete transcript of the exchange.
Hamilton's post-qualifying interview
Question: You don't seem happy, can you take us through your qualifying session?
Hamilton: It was pretty straightforward. Pretty much just...
Q: Had a deleted lap in Q3, put a little bit of extra pressure on the final run?
Hamilton: It didn't help but it wasn't the worst so...
Q: Are you finding the window of performance in this car quite narrow or fluctuating? It must be quite frustrating to try and get the most out of the Ferrari?
Hamilton: I'm just not doing a good job on my side so I just need to keep improving.
Q: New floor is a step, Charles was saying probably isn't best track to see it, but going in right direction?
Hamilton: Yeah.
Q: What's possible tomorrow?
Hamilton: Hopefully top five, I'll try to see if I can get in the top five. We'll see.
Q: Positive to see Leclerc way up there?
Hamilton: Yeah, clearly the car is good enough.
Q: You came to Ferrari with such hope and optimism, riding a good wave, is this the lowest you've felt since joining Ferrari? You've looked pretty down?
Hamilton: It's definitely not a good feeling for sure.
Q: Last week talked about the difference between the two cars, has that been resolved? No issues?
Hamilton: It's been resolved.
Q: Where do you go from here? What's the route forward?
Hamilton: I really don't know, I really don't know. I don't have a lot of answers for you guys. Just wasn't quick today.
Leclerc happy with his progress
There's a clear contrast at Ferrari right now, with Hamilton baffled about his pace deficit and Leclerc encouraged by the progress being made on his side of the garage amid a difficult start to the season.
"It was really good, but I don't think today's performance relies on my record on this track. I think it's the result of a lot of work," Leclerc said when asked how good his Q3 lap was.
"At the beginning of the season, we obviously weren't where we wanted to be and since two or three races, I've gone in an interesting direction set-up-wise, which seems to help me to extract a bit more out of the car. That's what I'm trying to do every weekend.
"For now, it seems to be better and better, which is a good sign for the future. I'm happy with the lap. It was very tricky to put everything together, but I think I did so. There wasn't much more inside the car.
"I did not expect to be so close to pole position - just like him. But tomorrow is going to be a bit more of a challenge."
Leclerc, who has moved onto the front row courtesy of George Russell's grid penalty, did not expect to challenge the McLarens on Sunday because of McLaren's "extremely good" tyre management.
But he reckoned he will be "pretty close" with the Mercedes and Red Bulls.
He also thought the new floor Ferrari debuted has made a difference already, gaining him a position in qualifying.
"I'm curious to see what it will do tomorrow," Leclerc added.
"However, it's probably not the best track to extract the maximum out of this new upgrade, but in the next few weekends, we shall see more of it."
