Lewis Hamilton said he intends to be “aggressive” on the run down to Turn 1 at the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday as he bids to land his first podium for Ferrari.
The seven-time world champion secured his best qualifying of a difficult debut season for Ferrari and will line up third behind pole-sitter Lando Norris and teammate Charles Leclerc.
Norris clinched a dominant pole, beating Leclerc by over two tenths and leaving title rivals Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri trailing in his wake in fifth and eighth respectively. Piastri will start from seventh on the grid due to Carlos Sainz‘s five-place grid penalty for a collision with Kimi Antonelli at last weekend’s U.S. Grand Prix.
The Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez boasts the longest run from pole to the turn one braking point on the F1 calendar and third on the grid is a strong position to be able to slipstream the car ahead.
Hamilton said he plans to give it everything on Sunday.
“I want to be racey tomorrow, I don’t have anything to lose and he [Norris] does,” Hamilton said.
“We will be quite aggressive I’m sure and I hope we will be close enough to put up a good fight.”
Ferrari have shown signs of improvement in recent races as they bid to land a first win since here last season — when Carlos Sainz delivered victory.
Leclerc and Hamilton were third and fourth in Austin last weekend and the 40-year-old believes he is finally getting to grips with his Ferrari.
“It has been a long time since I’ve been up here. It feels fresh,” he added.
“Grateful to the team for hard work and the effort. The fact is we are continuing to improve, staying positive and it is great to be up here with these two.
“It is a really difficult circuit, the grip is quite low due to the altitude. But our pace has been great all weekend.
“I have got the car to as good a place as I could. I am just happy to be here.
“I finally feel like I’m getting there so that’s good.”
