Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur believes Lewis Hamilton found the “perfect balance” on tyre preparation and usage en route to securing pole position for the 2026 Mexico City GP, which was Hamilton’s first in F1 since the 2023 Hungarian GP, and Ferrari’s first since the 2025 Hungarian GP.
Vasseur: Hamilton found “perfect balance” with tyres in 2026 F1 Mexico City GP qualifying
Hamilton is one of two drivers that can stop Kimi Antonelli from clinching the 2026 F1 drivers’ world championship this weekend at the Mexico City GP, by winning the race and hoping the Italian finishes outside the top 10, and he started that in the perfect way,
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after qualifying, Vasseur highlighted Hamilton’s long-time chase for his most recent pole position, as the seven-time F1 world champion became the oldest pole-sitter since Mario Andretti at the 1982 Italian GP.
“It’s a good one, because he was chasing the pole position for two years now, and this is done,” he said. “The most important is [the race], but the pole is for sure a milestone for Lewis [Hamilton], who is with us in the project.”
The 58-year-old explained how tyre preparation and the trade-off between pushing on the first part of the lap versus saving tyres for the low-speed final sector was a “key” factor for performance in qualifying for the 2026 F1 Mexico City GP, detailing how Hamilton found the “perfect balance“, whilst his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc struggled a bit more on his final Q3 run:
“Charles [Leclerc] did a very good first run in Q3, and he made a small mistake in the last run,” Vasseur lamented. “It’s a shame [because] it could have been a 1-2, but it could have been also worse with Max [Verstappen, in front].
“I think Max was doing a good lap, but it’s part of the game in Mexico, you know, that if you push at the beginning of the lap, you are struggling in the last couple of corners, and it’s always a matter of balance.
“Also it’s a bit key on this kind of track, that if you start to, and it’s what happened to Charles last week [in Austin], that he pushed a little bit too much perhaps on the opening [part of the] lap in Austin, and he cooked the tyres before sector two,” he explained.“And this weekend, Lewis found the perfect balance between pushing and saving the tyres, and it’s paying off again.
“It’s always tricky, and I think even more in Mexico than somewhere else, the layout of the track with the last part of the circuit, it’s mega demanding for the tyres, it means that if you over-push the first part, you are struggling at the end.”
Vasseur: “A lot can happen” in long run to turn one at the start
When asked about the positives of having both Ferrari’s starting on the clean side of the grid for the Mexico City F1 GP, Vasseur emphasized that having a good run and a good slipstream down to the first corner will be even more crucial to determine the outcome of the start – but admitted it’s better to have both cars starting on the more rubbered-in racing line:
“It’s not just a matter of clean side, it’s a lot about slipstream until turn one,” he added. “It’s the longest run until turn one of the season, and a lot can happen, but I still prefer to start from P1, P3.
“I think what will be key for [the race] is the position in turn one. We are all overheating when in the dirty air, and it will be like this for everybody. Let’s be focused on this.”
Vasseur: Hamilton and Leclerc will have to “race together” in order to secure a Ferrari 1-2 in 2026 F1 Mexico City GP
There have been plenty of examples this season of the Ferrari pair getting a bit agitated when together on track, as diverging strategies and a sense of self-interest taking over from the prioritising the team’s result.
When asked about his approach towards the racing between the Scuderia cars, Vasseur was adamant that they will need to “race together” and be “professional” in order to secure the best possible outcome for the Maranello-based squad:
“Let’s be focused on ourselves, I don’t have the crystal ball, I don’t want to think about [a potential 1-2], we have to find the best strategy, and first to do a good run until turn one, because it will be key to have clean air.
“They have to race together, I think it’s part of the performance of the team, I think the emulation between them is key for the global performance, and we will keep it like this, they are professional.”
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