Russell believed he had a realistic shot at pole position at Yas Marina after topping the final practice session on Saturday afternoon, but he wound up fourth in the evening shootout - lapping 0.343 seconds shy of Red Bull polesitter Max Verstappen.
While Russell reckoned that, in isolation, fourth place was no mean feat, the Briton said the result ended what had been a “strange day” as the grip faded aboard the W14.
He told Sky Sports: “A strange day, to be honest. I think ahead of this weekend, we'd have definitely taken a P4.
“I felt good in the car but after this morning, we seemed really strong and we thought probably pole was possible but we went out for Q1 and we just didn't have the same grip as we had earlier.”
Given the downturn, Russell reckoned he was signing off on “one of the worst seasons of my career”.
Russell, on course to finish eighth in the drivers’ standings with team-mate Lewis Hamilton in third, continued: “I want to finish the season on a high.
“It's been probably one of the worst seasons of my career in terms of results. It's just been just a really scrappy, messy season.
“I don't think it's been through a lack of speed. We've had really strong pace in many, many races but just never achieved that result on a Sunday.”
Source: Autosport