Red Bull's efforts in Barcelona were sorely hampered as both Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber needed new front wings after theirs were mysteriously damaged.
Webber was the first to come in for an out-of-sequence pit stop for a new front wing, changing his on lap 18, while Vettel later came in on lap 43.
That, though, wasn't Vettel's only issue on Sunday as the German was also slapped with a drive-through penalty for ignoring yellow flags.
"It was a hard day in the office. I'm not entirely happy," said the reigning World Champion.
"I think we could have been at least one position further up. We had a good recovery in the end.
"It was good fun, but when it's up and down, up and down, it's quite difficult.
"I didn't think I had damage with the nose. It felt like there was something stuck which ruins the aerodynamics.
We decided to come in and change the nose. That cost us some time, but it was right to do.
"We found out that the front end of the wing was actually broken. I don't know why, I didn't hit anybody."
Strangely, his team-mate Webber's afternoon was also undone when he suffered front wing damage. And, like Vettel, he didn't know where or why.
"It was an interesting race. I don't know where I got damage on my front wing but I had to pit for a new nose," said the Aussie, who finished P11.
"When you're out of position round here you have to look after your tyres and when you catch people, your tyres get killed. I was out of position whatever happened with the nose.
"If you push you have to pit. It's a new way, it's good for the fans if they like it, but it makes it more challenging for us in different ways."
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