Lewis Hamilton wasn’t too disheartened after only managing fourth on the grid for the Mexican GP.
Expectations were already low at Mercedes heading into the session with the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez not only their weakest circuit, but also expected to suit Ferrari who had claimed pole at the past five races.
There was surprise then when Max Verstappen claimed his second Formula 1 pole of the season and career but for Hamilton, his result was pretty much the optimum.
“I think third place was possible but in the last sector it kind of all went to pot there,” he said post-session. “But I’m generally happy with today, it was just hard to keep up with the others.
“We knew that it would be difficult this weekend coming here but I gave it everything, it wasn’t enough for pole but I think I got everything out of the car.
“It puts us in a fighting position for tomorrow, so I hope we get a good start.”
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Gaining track position is likely to be Hamilton’s only chance of victory on Sunday, but he knows doing that will depend on one key factor.
“There won’t be a huge amount [of strategy variation] and the Red Bull is really quite quick on their long runs, so it will be interesting to see whose tyres will last longer,” he suggested.
“That’s going to be the name of the game, just looking after the tyres for the distance and holding on to the top players, the Ferraris and Red Bulls ahead. I’m looking forward to that fight.”
At this point, however, his chances of securing that sixth title look bleak, with teammate Valtteri Bottas starting sixth pending any penalties due to damage from his crash in Q3.