Charles Leclerc blamed himself after he qualified third for the F1 Mexico City GP, while his Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton took pole position after the Qualifying session.
Leclerc set the early pace in Q3, but he failed to improve on his final run and finished 0.119 seconds behind Hamilton’s 1:16.514. George Russell split the two Ferraris, falling just nine thousandths short of pole. Hamilton’s lap gave him his first pole for Ferrari and the 105th of his career.
Leclerc pointed to tyre preparation as a problem throughout the session. He admitted, though, that he could find no excuse for his final attempt.
“I just didn’t do a good enough job,” said the Monégasque. “Yes, tyre preparation is quite key. I kind of struggled to have the same conditions for my out-lap throughout the qualifying. But at the end of the day, when I had a clean out-lap in Q3, run two, I didn’t do the job. So I can only be angry with myself.”
Leclerc had a moment through Turns 10 and 11 on that final run, which ended his chances of beating Hamilton.
Overtaking concerns
Leclerc said he felt confident about Ferrari’s race pace after the F1 Mexico City GP Qualifying session, but he expects overtaking during the Race to be very difficult.
“Yes, I think the pace is good. I think the car feels good and felt good since FP1,” he explained. “I think on that we’ve got the race pace, but I doubt there will be any overtakes tomorrow. I’ve tried more in FP2, and it’s just very difficult because the overtake mode doesn’t do much.”
“So, I think whatever is the standing after Turn 3, it’s going to be very difficult then to overtake. So, it’s a bit of a shame that I didn’t do the job eventually when it mattered.”
That puts the spotlight on the long run to Turn 1, where Leclerc could use the slipstream of Hamilton ahead of him.
“Yes, I mean, I’ll keep my head down as much as possible and see what’s possible,” Leclerc said. “But, yes, it’s always an exciting Turn 1 there, and we’ll see how it goes.”
Altitude plays to Ferrari’s strengths
Ferrari’s strong qualifying result came at a circuit more than 2,000 metres above sea level. Leclerc believes the thin air reduces the impact of the car’s weaknesses on the straights.
“I think we’ve got a very strong car in the corners,” he said. “In the straight, we pay the price of less power, but also probably a bit more drag. And with driving in such conditions, so high in altitude, you pay the price a little bit less in the straights of the extra drag and of the missing horsepower.”
“So, yes, it’s been a good track. And on paper, normally this year, we never really performed as we expected on the tracks we expected to be good. But this weekend has been the case, so it’s a good sign.”
Leclerc will start third behind Hamilton and Russell. Kimi Antonelli moves up to fourth after Max Verstappen took a one-place grid penalty for his collision with Liam Lawson in FP2, so the Red Bull driver starts fifth.
