Sergio Perez was left kicking himself in Baku after an FP3 penalty turned a stunning second position in qualifying into seventh on the grid.
Perez came into qualifying knowing he would face a five-place grid drop after a crash in final practice prompted a gearbox change. In Q3 he was the only man to get within a second of Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg but after the session admitted frustration with an opportunity lost.
"I am a bit angry still with my mistake this morning, but very happy," Perez said. "I think it is a mix of feelings for me today. I think the lap we put together in Q3 was very, very strong and it was a very difficult session for me because there is not a lot of time after a crash and you lose some confidence and to get it back and to get in the rhythm again, it was great.
"Very pleased with that and hopefully tomorrow we can do a lot of progress and aim for a rostrum position. I think definitely the team deserved more."
He also praised Force India for the quick turnaround which meant he could get out for qualifying in the first place.
Asked if his performance felt like pole despite the penalty, he said: "Yeah it does, to be honest it does. I mean the effort that the whole team has done, especially all my boys today to put car together [again] to first of all be able to make qualifying."
Perez rated the lap as one of his best in a Formula One car.
"The car has worked really well around and for some reason we are very competitive. We struggle to understand what is making us so competitive and yeah, I think that my lap was definitely one of the best laps in such a difficult place to get 100% around the car.
"I am pleased with the result and with the penalty tomorrow it is a bit of a shame but let's see what we can do tomorrow. I think this is a track where you can overtake and you can have a good race. It will be good to enjoy the race. I think there will be a lot happening and lot of safety cars. I am looking forward to tomorrow."