Photo: RacePictures.

McLaren leaves Hamilton baffled in Mexico, major question triggered

15:00, 25 Oct

byNorberto Mujica

Lewis Hamilton finished fifth in FP2 at the Mexico City Grand Prix, a session the driver admits to have been left surprised by Ferrari's pace, and McLaren's fading dominance.

I saw a GPS of one of the McLarens but they think they lost a bit of time in the high speed so I don’t know where they’ve lost their pace

- Lewis Hamilton

When asked to sum up his afternoon in a single word, Hamilton reflected on the mixed feeling of performance and uncertainty.

“I’m surprised how relatively close we are given how not great it felt,” he said. “I mean every time you come here the grip is, because of the altitude we’re all running pretty high downforce but it feels lower than Monza. So you’re sliding around trying to find grip but it’s just not there. But yeah it wasn’t disastrous.

“But, obviously because I missed P1 [Free Practice 1], Antonio [Fuoco, Ferrari's development driver] did a really great job. So nice to be able to watch him drive and experience and have fun in my car, which is really cool.

"And then yeah, the car was sliding around a lot. The balance is very open. I’ve got a lot of work to do overnight to try and figure out how to find a more streamlined balance.”

Lewis Hamilton placed P5 in FP2. Photo: RacePictures

Asked whether Ferrari might risk overcorrecting the set-up overnight as the track's grip is expected to increase on Saturday, Hamilton said: “I mean there is always a danger with it but I don’t think you can make it worse…

"We won’t obviously be silly with the decisions we take. We’ll look through the data tonight and then try and come up with some plans.

"I definitely don’t want to race what we had today. The long run balance wasn’t disastrous but we need to get more from the tyres. I know there’s more pace in the car.”

Lewis Hamilton wonders where McLaren's dominance has gone. Photo: RacePictures

The Scuderia's performance wasn't the only one Hamilton was surprised by, the seven-time world champion was also puzzled by McLaren’s fading dominance.

He added: “I saw a GPS of one of the McLarens but they think they lost a bit of time in the high speed so I don’t know where they’ve lost their pace.

"But I’m sure they’ll pull out some good pace tomorrow, they’re a great team,” Hamilton concluded.

Hamilton warns McLaren

According to the Ferrari driver, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri need to be more "cut-throat" in their fight against reigning champion Max Verstappen. If they don't the McLaren drivers risk losing a title that five race weekends ago seemed to be secure.

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