Fernando Alonso was left disappointed after failing to make the final part of qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix after solid running during free practice.
In both Friday sessions, Alonso was comfortably inside the top ten, giving the impression a good qualifying performance was on the cards, especially with the new Renault power unit upgrade.
Reality came tumbling down on Saturday morning after ending FP3 in thirteenth place and further behind the pace than at any other point of the weekend.
After a confusing weekend of events, the double-world champion is aiming to turn Saturday's result around for the race and get into the points.
"We knew that this could be a difficult circuit for us and yesterday we felt quite competitive," said Alonso, who will start from 14th spot on the grid. "The car was feeling right and today we were uncompetitive in FP3 and unfortunately, we confirm it in qualifying.
"We’ll see tomorrow, nothing we can change now and I think points are still possible. That will be our target for tomorrow."
After a solid performance in Monaco which unfortunately led to a retirement with a gearbox failure, Alonso was asked if there was a chance McLaren's pace was down to the specific nature of the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit. "It's difficult to explain," he added.
"I think the performance has been a little up and down for everybody, not only for us. Sometimes we try to analyse as much as we can and it’s difficult to get a specific answer.
"Monaco is a very specific circuit and I think if we were a bit more competitive there it doesn’t count in the overall championship and we know our weakness. We know where we have to improve. I am disappointed but the race is tomorrow and the points are tomorrow. So let’s attack."
