Jenson Button concluded qualifying in Q2 with 12th place, but there was more to the McLaren driver's session than what met the eye.
Button's performance actually looked quite promising at one point with the former world champion running in the top 10 in Q2, but his MP4-30's persistent deployment issues brought his final result more in line with its usual rank.
"To be fair, I enjoyed driving the car around here today," Button said. "It felt the best as it's been all year, which is always promising at the end of the season.
"We're disappointed obviously being 12th because we thought we could have gotten through to Q3, which would have been the first time this year."
Button admitted he gave it his all in his attempt to break in to the final top 10 and left nothing on the table, but the McLaren-Honda's management of its electrical capacities still remains at the core of its weakness.
"We definitely maximized what we have but I just couldn't find the grip in our last run. But the feel of the car is good and the last sector was reasonably strong while there's still a lot of work to be done in the middle sector area.
"A lot of our issues come from deployment. We're not 28km/h slower on a straight, it's because we're cutting off even in qualifying the deployment. It looks worse than it is and obviously cost us a lot of lap time.
"It's going to be a tricky one tomorrow and more painful than in qualifying, but we'll see what we can do."
AS IT HAPPENED: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Qualifying
Between the lines at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Use the red tabs on either side of the screen to scroll through more Formula One news and features
Click here for exclusive pictures of the Ferrari power unit
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Sebastian Montoya, the 19-year-old son of former Formula 1 star Juan Pablo Montoya, is set…
When former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto took on the role of Chief Operating Officer…
Charles Leclerc concluded the 2024 F1 season with a sense of satisfaction, the Ferrari driver…
Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard has voiced his dismay at FIA president Mohammed Ben…
Super Aguri's application to join Formula 1 became a reality on this day in 2005,…
Ferrari roared back into contention in 2024 to deliver their strongest season in years, thanks…