Mercedes haven't looked comfortable on the Albert Park circuit all weekend and both George Russell and Hamilton were on the cusp of Q2 elimination heading into the final runs in qualifying.

Unfortunately for the latter, late improvements for Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda bumped him out of the top 10, meaning the seven-time world champion will start the Australian GP from 11th on the grid.

Hamilton's start to his final season as a Mercedes driver has been extremely mentally taxing. The 39-year-old sits ninth in the standings and hasn't qualified higher than eighth on any occasion thus far.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 about his frustrations, Hamilton noted: "It felt great in P3 and it was strange because we were right there with these guys and we didn’t really understand why.

"But then going into qualifying, it’s just another inconsistency within the car, it really messes with the mind. George did a good job today. It is what it is. I just have to try to do a better job tomorrow."

The seven-time world champion then blasted his P11 grid slot as "terrible" before adding that there is a "long list" of improvements that he and the Mercedes team will be looking to make overnight.

Wolff was also unimpressed with his team's offerings in Melbourne. "It's especially underwhelming because we were within a tenth in FP3," he told Ted Kravitz. "The conditions were a little bit different but there is no excuse.

"We have a car that is difficult and you can be narrowly in and out of the window, and as much as I am annoyed myself of saying this for a long time, we just need to continue working on it and trying to get better. It is not because of a lack of trying that we are where we are, but it's not good enough."

While Russell fared somewhat better than his team-mate, a P7 starting grid slot will be of little consolation to the Brit, and with McLaren starting in P4 and P6, Mercedes are braced to lose ground in the battle for P3 in the Constructors' Championship.