Sebastian Vettel refused to apportion blame on his team for the clear mishap that botched his running in Q3, but Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene wasn't as tolerant with his troops.
The German driver - who is 50 points adrift from rival Lewis Hamilton in the title fight - will start Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix from a lowly P8 while team mate Kimi Raikkonen will line up further up the grid in fourth place.
Both drivers - or rather the Ferrari pitwall - were caught out by track conditions at the start of Q3, the Scuderia electing to send Vettel and Raikkonen out on intermediates as it anticipated rain.
Vettel radioed back to signal that the circuit was dry enough for a run on supersoft tyres, forcing a swap that neither driver could take advantage of as they ran wide or hit the kerbs on their second runs.
An angry Arrivabene addressed the tyre swap issue after qualifying;
"From the way things were done, I do not think that pole position was within our reach, but what happened today is unacceptable," he told Autosport.
"I am very angry. It is not the first time that these mistakes have occurred.
"I do not feel like pointing my fingers at someone in particular, but I'm very disappointed."
The Scuderia boss believed that conditions at the outset of Q3 should not have been complicated to judge for the men sitting on the pitwall, suggesting his crew was perhaps missing an experienced member with better flair and guidance.
"Unlike on other occasions, it was easy to understand what was happening on the track, as all our opponents left the pits with slicks," he added.
"Sometimes it is more useful to take your eyes off computers and watch the track, using common sense.
"It is true that we are a young team, and we are probably missing an 'old hand', an experienced person capable of reading situations correctly and quickly."
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