Lando Norris conceded McLaren's "fundamental issues" continue to blight its competitiveness after a disappointing qualifying performance for the Miami Grand Prix.
Neither McLaren driver was able to escape elimination in Q1, with Norris set to line up 16th on the grid, three places ahead of rookie teammate Oscar Piastri.
The lacklustre performance returns McLaren to the mire of the opening two races of the season where no points were scored, with a resurgence-of-sorts in Australia and Azerbaijan short-lived.
For the second qualifying this season, Norris' chances were hurt by driving errors - though the entire field struggled with gusting wind and a slippery track surface around the Hard Rock Stadium.
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"Not too good in terms of doing the qualifying," Norris told media, including RacingNews365.com.
"I made a couple of mistakes - one cost me getting into Q2 but we probably wouldn't have achieved more than 15th. You never know but on pace, that's where we were.
"A difficult day, that was very clear. All weekend we haven't had the pace, it is a track which doesn't suit us quite as well as Australia or Baku - which I said at the time, we made some small steps in Australia but we didn't necessarily change things, it is just the track suited us more.
"Now we have come back to a track that is just not as good for us but still some positives.
"The upgrade is working and helped us take a small step forward. But the fundamental issues are the same and that has been proven again."