Jenson Button was left bristling with frustration following a day of struggle in Germany.
The world championship leader trailed home fifth behind another Red Bull Racing one-two, their third of the season, but this time with Mark Webber leading home Sebastian Vettel in the German Grand Prix.
Button's lead is now 21 points, with Vettel taking up second place in the drivers' standings just 1.5 points ahead of Webber and three ahead of Button's Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello.
After six wins from the first seven races, the balance of power has undoubtedly shifted the way of Red Bull in the past two grands prix at Silverstone and the Nurburgring.
"It was really frustrating, a difficult race for us in which nothing went right, as at Silverstone," assessed Button.
"In the first stint I was stuck behind (Heikki) Kovalainen and had nowhere to go. I couldn't get past him.
"Then the pace was okay, but in the third stint I was stuck behind Rubens after he had a problem with his fuel rig at his second stop.
"The fuel rig problem screwed his race and mine, so finishing fifth is disappointing because I think we could have got a podium.
"I now can't wait to get to Hungary in two weeks where we will have new parts and hopefully warmer weather to take the fight to the Red Bulls."
Button was at least humble enough to offer his congratulations to Webber following the Australian's first win in Formula One at the 130th attempt.
"It's fantastic," said Button.
"The guy has been close many times, so this is well deserved. He was very quick all weekend, superior, and then drove a great race."
It was another day of woe for fellow Briton Lewis Hamilton as hopes of a podium in a finally competitive McLaren were wrecked at the first corner.
A stunning start, aided by a push of the KERS button, saw Hamilton fly up the field from fifth on the grid, only to sustain a puncture to his right-rear tyre after being clipped by Webber.
Forced into a pit stop at the end of lap one, Hamilton eventually finished a wretched 18th, unable to compete due to suspected damage to the rear of the car, likely caused by the flailing rubber.
"My race was effectively over at turn one," said Hamilton, feeling as deflated as the tyre that caused his problems.
"I had quite a good launch into there, and I was braking when I felt a tap from the rear and went straight on.
"I think the flat tyre damaged the rear floor because it felt like I was out there driving on ice.
"I suggested to the team we save the engine and gearbox for the future because there's a lot more potential ahead of us than we'd anticipated before this weekend.
"But that's racing and we'll move on. The best thing about this weekend was that our updates were successful.
"The team has done a fantastic job over the last few weeks and I'm already looking forward to the next race."
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