October 29th 2023.
Sir Lewis Hamilton was hoping for better after coming close to winning the last race in the USA, but instead the seven-time Formula 1 champion was left disappointed as he was forced to start the Mexican Grand Prix from P6 on the grid.
The Mercedes car proved to be a "nightmare to drive" in Mexico, with Ferrari locking out the front row and Charles Leclerc surprisingly taking pole position. Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen followed in second and third respectively, while Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez will start fourth and fifth.
Hamilton was just three-tenths slower than pole-sitter Leclerc, but the 38-year-old admits he has struggled all weekend with the car.
"We’ve had to try and put the performance together piece by piece, and we made good changes going into qualifying so that I was much happier with the car. Q1 and Q2 weren’t looking too bad, especially the second run in Q2. But the car is just really peaky – sometimes it’s in the window, sometimes not. And I couldn’t squeeze anything more out of it on that final lap," said Hamilton.
Leclerc, who took the 22nd pole of his career in Mexico, was surprised with his performance.
"First place here I’m not sure is the best starting place, but anyway that’s fine, I’ll take that pole position," said the 26-year-old. "I absolutely did not [see this performance coming]. It’s been two weekends in a row where we say that so then people will start not believing us anymore. To be honest, I did not expect to be on pole position today."
Leclerc is aware that pole position is no guarantee of success come race day, as he has converted just four of his previous 21 poles into wins. He will focus on himself and his team to try and get a win on Sunday.
"We thought we were lacking quite a bit in FP3, but for some reason once we put everything together it went well. [With] the new tyres, we gained a lot. Already focusing on tomorrow’s race because [we’ve had] many pole positions but now we need to convert it into a win tomorrow," said Leclerc.
Hamilton is well aware of the challenge that lies ahead of him. "The race is definitely going to be a challenge – we will be overheating the tyres and the brakes, so it won’t be easy to battle the cars around us. I don’t really know what kind of race to expect but it’s going to be on a knife edge," he said.
The Mexican Grand Prix is always a tricky one for drivers and cars alike, but the stakes are even higher in this race as the drivers battle it out for the pole position. Hamilton is hopeful that he will be able to convert his position into a win, while Leclerc knows that pole position is no guarantee of success. Let's wait and see who will come out on top in Sunday's race.
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