The European Grand Prix that promised so much for Daniel Ricciardo ended a fizzer, with the Australian struggling to keep pace on the Baku street circuit and ultimately finishing seventh.
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Ricciardo started on the front row of the grid next to eventual winner Nico Rosberg in a Mercedes.
Although getting away well when the lights went out, Ricciardo's speed disadvantage and difficulties with tyre selection saw him struggle to make inroads throughout the 51 lap race. His Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen had similar problems and brought his car home in eighth.
Mercedes' championship leader Rosberg cruised to victory after leading all day. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel finished second and Force India's Sergio Perez claimed a stunning third place.
Perez had a rollercoaster weekend in which he crashed the car, qualified second fastest, but then started from seventh because of a five-place grid penalty for changing a gearbox.
After the race, Rosberg said his fifth win of the season was spectacular and on a great track. "For me the weekend went perfectly," he said.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was fourth, with world champion Lewis Hamilton in fifth having endured another frustrating day. Hamilton had crashed out in the final qualifying session and started the Grand Prix from eighth.
Throughout the day he battled with vibrations and his car's engine settings saying on team radio "I'm going to change everything". The Mercedes garage replied: "we don't advise this".
Ricciardo held onto second place until lap six when Vettel's superior pace in the Ferrari showed Red Bull would be in for a long afternoon running mid-field.
The Australian pitted for new tyres on lap seven and dropped back to 13th, working his way back through the field but never again threatening for a podium spot.
Struggling for pace and with his soft tyres going off, the Australian pitted again on lap 23 and went for the medium compound. This enabled him to run to the end, passing Force India's Nico Hulkenberg on lap 48 to claim seventh.
Rosberg now leads the title race by 24 points from Hamilton, Vettel and Raikkonen. Ricciardo slips from fourth to fifth.
After qualifying on Saturday Red Bull principal Christian Horner had said his team would get the benefit of engine upgrades and tighter circuits in coming rounds.
"We're ahead of expectations," he said. "I think the second half of the year should be more competitive for us."
