Lewis Hamilton qualified third for the Mexico City GP, hoping to end his 19-race Ferrari podium drought with strong race pace and strategic positioning.
LEWIS Hamilton believes he can secure his first podium finish for Ferrari in Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix after qualifying third on Saturday.
The seven-time world champion will start behind pole-sitter Lando Norris and Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.
“P3 is kind of the perfect spot actually at this track, so I’m hoping I can make the most of that at the start,” Hamilton said.
The 40-year-old driver has gone 19 races without a podium since joining Ferrari from Mercedes this season.
“I’m really, really happy today,” Hamilton added. “And, I’m honoured to be here with Lando and Charles.”
Hamilton expressed confidence in Ferrari’s race pace despite development challenges.
“We’ve not really moved the car forward necessarily in development, but we’ve extracted more and our processes are better this weekend.”
The British driver previously won in Mexico with Mercedes in 2016 and 2019.
Leclerc acknowledged the challenging qualifying conditions at the Autódromo Hermanos RodrÃguez.
“It’s very difficult because there is very little grip, so the car is sliding a lot,” Leclerc said.
The Monegasque driver emphasized the importance of the race start.
“It will mean a lot, so we will do everything to get the first place into the first corner — and then see what is possible.”
Hamilton remains optimistic about his chances in front of the Mexican crowd.
“I will try to find a way to move forward somehow at the first corner so it should be exciting.” – AFP
