Lewis Hamilton believes Ferrari is armed with a machine capable of fighting for pole position at the Mexican Grand Prix, according to Motorsport.com, even after technical gremlins interrupted his Friday running. That confidence comes on the back of team-mate Charles Leclerc topping both Friday practice sessions.
Unfortunately, the seven-time Formula 1 world champion hit an issue during second practice that robbed him of a chance to complete his high-fuel long run. Hamilton admitted that he will now have to study data from others and essentially guess on setup decisions like wing levels and braking settings for Sunday's race.
Before the stoppage, however, the car was talking to him. "It felt really good up until then. That was feeling great. And we did a good job with set-up changes. Car was in a good place and we were just actually strong," Hamilton said. He noted that power losses cost him three tenths on his lap, but maintained that the underlying machine feels genuinely strong this weekend.
Paddock chatter has pegged the Italian cars as favorites for the weekend due to their smaller turbocharger handling the high-altitude thin air better, with Mercedes' George Russell suggesting it grants an advantage. Hamilton, however, quickly dismissed that theory. He pointed out that rivals like Mercedes and Red Bull remain rapid at the end of the straights, claiming Ferrari is still losing two or three tenths there. McLaren's Oscar Piastri also downplayed the turbo theory, noting the Ferrari looked slightly slow on the straights.
Regardless of straight-line speed deficits, Hamilton feels the handling characteristics keep them in the fight for the front row. "Charles has been P1 for the two sessions, and I think you never know how qualifying goes. The others seem to take another step, but honestly feels like we could be really close to beating them for Quali," he said.
In the broader championship picture, Mercedes holds a 133-point advantage over Ferrari in the constructors' standings and has the chance to clinch the title this weekend.
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