Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher finished 10th fastest in Friday's free practice here for the Hungarian Grand Prix and then showed his frustration at his Mercedes team's slow progress.
Despite his own difficulties in rising to the form he once revelled in producing on a regular basis, the 41-year-old German made a point of revealing his disappointment at the team's lack of competitive pace.
His performance on Friday at least gave him the satisfaction of outpacing his 25-year-old team-mate and fellow-German Nico Rosberg, but he remained puzzled at their problems.
Schumacher was one and a half seconds slower than the pace-setting time set by countryman Sebastian Vettel for Red Bull, despite the introduction of a range of new upgraded parts including a new floor.
"If a car goes well, a lap goes well," he said. "Unfortunately our car doesn't look to be very good here. I think the truth is that we are certainly not up to the speed that we normally (are), at least on Fridays.
"So we'll see if we find reasons for it or if it is a simple character issue."
When asked to identify the specific nature of the problem, Schumacher showed he had not lost his sense of humour despite his disappointment.
"If I knew that I wouldn't have it," he joked. "But I think what we have on-board is better than what we had at Silverstone but maybe it doesn't suit the track here."
After a disappointing home race weekend in Germany, the team were hoping to bounce back, but that looks unlikely.
"It was an interesting day and even though we have taken a small step back with our upgrades, the car seems to work as it should for me," said Rosberg.
"The track was unexpectedly fast so we had to do some different things with the set-up just to get a feel for it.
"My lap time wasn't particularly representative, as I didn't set a time because of the traffic, so I think we are looking to be in our general position behind the frontrunners at the moment."
Copyright 2010 AFP Global Edition
