Lewis Hamilton explained that an engine problem was partly to blame for his third-place finish at the Mexican Grand Prix despite topping the timesheets in Q1 and Q2. The 37-year-old looked set to challenge for pole position at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, but was eventually beaten by Max Verstappen and fellow Mercedes driver George Russell in their final runs of Q3.
Hamilton complained about a problem with his power unit over the team radio during the final minutes of qualifying, with the seven-time champion insisting it was affecting his Mercedes car’s drivability as he attempted to clinch pole. in Mexico City. He alluded to the problem when asked about his post-qualifying thoughts. sky sports f1 after the end of the session, but praised his colleagues at Mercedes, who have been working tirelessly to unlock much-needed pace in recent months.
“There are definitely positives to today, for us to be second and third, I think that’s unbelievable,” Hamilton said. “The car has felt really good this weekend. I had some engine issues in Q3, I’m not quite sure what it was, but I definitely feel like there was quite a bit of time left on the table.”
“Still, for us to be there and to be that close is unbelievable. Everyone at the factor should be very, very proud. I just hope we can compete with these guys tomorrow.”
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“We’ve got a Red Bull right behind me, or next to me, so he’s going to be fighting them. Still, they’re the ones to beat, three tenths ahead of us in qualifying. I don’t know where that came from. weather”.
“There was a little time with the engine [problems in Q3], but not three tenths. Hopefully, we can still put pressure on them with the strategy.”
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It remains to be seen whether Mercedes will be able to stage a long-awaited Grand Prix win for either Hamilton or Russell when all five red lights go out on Sunday night, with Verstappen the heavy favorite to claim the spoils over the course of the 71. -Lap contest. Toto Wolff was quick to highlight the progress made by the Silver Arrows in terms of improving their pace in recent weeks, with the Mercedes boss insisting after Saturday’s qualifying session that they are slowly moving up the pecking order.
“They [Red Bull] We were really good in the stadium, so we probably wouldn’t have made it anyway,” explained Wolff. “The high-downforce setup is where we’re best. We brought an update that works. Slowly but surely we are going backwards.
“The red bulls are [still] a bit quicker. If we were on pole, we would have been eaten on the straights, so we’re in a better position.”
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