Lewis Hamilton expresses strong belief in Ferrari despite facing technical issues at the Mexican GP.
Lewis Hamilton is convinced that Ferrari could realistically contend for pole position at the Mexican Grand Prix, especially after teammate Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets in both of Friday's practice sessions.
The Brit faced a challenge during the second practice that hindered his chance for a lengthy run with a full tank, yet the seven-time Formula 1 world champion remains hopeful about his team's prospects for Saturday.
“Up until that point, it felt really good. I was feeling great. We executed the set-up changes well. The car was in a good spot, and we were genuinely strong,” Hamilton stated.
“However, even during my lap, we were experiencing power loss in several areas, which cost me three tenths previously as well. Fundamentally, we have a really good car this weekend.”
The Scuderia team is the crowd favorite heading into the race weekend, with its power unit anticipated to perform better under the high-altitude conditions due to its smaller turbocharger. Mercedes' George Russell mentioned on Thursday that this could provide the Italian team with "quite an advantage" in the thin air of Mexico City.
Nevertheless, Hamilton is eager to temper these high expectations.
“I don't really agree with the turbo argument. If you observe the speeds of the Mercedes and Red Bull, they still maintain their pace at the end of the straights, just like in every race. So, the turbo isn't making a significant difference.
“It continues to pull more at the end of the straights. I think we’re still losing a solid two or three tenths, but the car is performing very well.”
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri also downplayed this notion, suggesting that the Ferrari appeared “a bit slow on the straights.”
Despite this shortcoming, Hamilton is optimistic that Ferrari can contend for the front row, although he cautioned that competitors usually find additional speed during qualifying.
“Charles has been P1 in both sessions, and qualifying can be unpredictable. Others seem to elevate their performance, but honestly, it feels like we could be very close to surpassing them for Quali.”
Since he missed his long run, Hamilton acknowledged he will need to depend on data from others to configure the car for Sunday’s race.
“I’m unsure how the car will perform over a long stint. We didn’t get to test it, so I’ll have to pay attention to how others fared and estimate where we need to adjust the car, such as wing settings and braking.”
Mercedes holds a 133-point advantage over Ferrari in the constructors’ championship and could secure the title this weekend.
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