On Sunday afternoon's race, Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton had no definitive answer for the three-time champion's lack of pace over the Russian Grand Prix weekend.
It was one of those rare race weekends in which Hamilton was well off the pace, qualifying half a second off pole in fourth and finishing the race in the same position, 36 seconds off the lead. In stark contrast, teammate Valtteri Bottas was able to qualify within 0.1s of pole position and went on to win the race following a strong start from third on the grid.
Throughout Friday practice, Hamilton struggled to get his tyre temperatures in their optimum working range and as a result failed to hook up a single flying lap with three best sector times.