Charles Leclerc claimed P2 in F1 Mexico City GP qualifying, locking out the front row alongside Lando Norris for Sunday’s race. His teammate Lewis Hamilton lined up just behind in P3, while Championship leader Oscar Piastri starts from P7, promoted following Carlos Sainz’s five-place grid penalty carried over from last weekend in Austin.
Over a year since a Grand Prix win for Ferrari
Ferrari has shown consistent performance over the years at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, with Carlos Sainz taking both pole and race victory last year, and Charles Leclerc claiming pole the year prior.
However, the circuit’s location, over 2,000 metres above sea level, adds an extra layer of challenge, with reduced surface grip and lower downforce making car balance and handling more difficult.
“It’s very difficult. This qualifying is very, very difficult, because there’s very little grip, so the car is sliding a lot,” Leclerc said regarding his lap during the F1 Mexico City GP session. “And in order to put everything together, it’s very tricky. But I’m pretty happy with the job we’ve done. I don’t think there was much more in the car. There’s a bit here and there, as always in qualifying, but very happy with the performance.”
It has been over a year now since Ferrari have won a Grand Prix, with Leclerc added that a victory this weekend would mean a lot to the team.
“It would mean a lot. So we’ll do everything in order to get the first place into the first corner and then we’ll see what’s possible.”
Slight disappointment with P2, but pretty happy overall
Both Ferrari drivers showed strong pace throughout the practice sessions, consistently running in the top five during FP2 and FP3. Leclerc topped FP1, where Hamilton sat out and was replaced by Antonio Fuoco for the session.
Despite this, Leclerc was slightly disappointed to only secure P2 in the F1 Mexico City GP qualifying session. He felt he had a strong weekend up until Q3 and admitted he was surprised by the margin to Norris on the pole lap.
“A little bit. But yeah, after the first lap in Q3, I thought this was a really good lap. So I knew there was a little bit more to come, but not so much. But considering the gaps that were behind, I was like, “OK, let’s see how it goes. I will still go flat out on the second lap and see where we end up”. But I was very surprised, obviously, by the jump Lando did from the first to the second run in Q3. I just don’t think we had the pace today to match that. There was a little bit here and there, but I don’t think it would have been enough for pole position anyway.”
Even though the Monégasque driver was disappointed with not achieving pole position, he was still overall happy with both of his laps in Q3 at the low-grip track.
“I think the car was actually really good today. The whole weekend has been pretty strong. But on a track like this, it’s very difficult because it’s such a low grip track, and it’s very easy to make a mistake. Whatever small mistake you do is exaggerated in terms of lap time lost. So it was very tough, but I was pretty happy with both of my laps in Q3.”
Track improvement during Qualifying
Leclerc had no complaints about his car after qualifying, noting that the cooler track conditions later in the afternoon definitely helped improve grip and overall performance.
“A little bit. I think the track got cooler in Q3, and that definitely helped. The grip was a little bit higher, and I felt in some corners I was a little bit under the limit, if anything. But yeah, the car reacted well, and again, I don’t have anything to complain about car-wise.”
Ferrari’s race pace
Compared to McLaren, Ferrari has slightly better straight-line speed. Last weekend in Austin showcased a turning point for the Ferrari duo. After a challenging start to the weekend, where they struggled for pace, they surged in Qualifying to P3 and P5. Leclerc was able to capitalise on this performance, finishing P3 in the Grand Prix.
Regarding his confidence heading into Sunday’s Grand Prix, Leclerc is aware that the start is definitely a place they can potentially capitalise on.
“He’s got the race pace too,” Leclerc said about Norris’ expected performance in the race. “We were speaking about it earlier. I think he will be very strong tomorrow for sure. But the start is definitely a chance for us — it’s an opportunity for us to try and make something special even though starting second here on the dirty side of the track. I’m not sure it’s great, but it’s OK. I’ll just focus on what I can control and hopefully it will be enough to be alongside him into Turn 1.“
What’s changed for Ferrari over the recent races?
Ferrari’s performance over kerbs had not been particularly strong on previous circuits, but in the F1 Mexico City GP so far, they have been able to capitalise on it. Leclerc explained that it wasn’t necessarily the bumps themselves that had been a weakness in the past, but rather a combination of other factors both drivers were trying to manage. He added that both he and Hamilton are now in a more comfortable place, thanks to small adjustments made across various areas of the car rather than a single, isolated change.
“I don’t think there’s a silver bullet or something that we’ve changed significantly that makes us a lot better now than three, four, five races ago. I think it’s a little bit everywhere. Like Lewis was saying earlier, I think the processes and all the small differences make a big difference at the end, and we improved all that in the last few weekends. Yeah, on the bumps, I don’t think this was particularly a weakness at any point. I think we had to manage some other things at one point of the season, which now we are in a bit more of a comfortable place. But yeah, the pace in itself is more down to small details everywhere rather than something standing out.”
Confidence with the car
Leclerc kept an extra set of soft tyres for the race, hoping a situation arises where he can use them. He explained that his significant leap in pace from Q2 to Q3 in the F1 Mexico City GP Qualifying session came from running on just one set.
“Well, I kept a new soft for the race. So yeah, in Q2, I had done my lap early on in Q2 compared to most of the others that had put a second set. I went on a scrubbed tyre then. So obviously there was a little bit of a gap there more than anything. But the lap time came quite nicely. I was quite confident with the car, so I knew where I had to push and where I had to improve. Everything came together very nicely on that first lap in Q3 — just like, honestly, the second lap in Q3 as well. So yeah. But I think the biggest explanation is mostly that I only put one set in Q2 when most of the others went for two.”
Starting from the front row
Leclerc holds the upper hand over current Championship leader Piastri, starting on the fourth row alongside Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, with Verstappen just ahead on the third row. Despite this, Leclerc admitted he would rather be in his position than theirs, though he acknowledged that both cars have the pace to close the gap during the race.
“Yeah. I mean, it’s probably going to be tough. I’d rather be in my position than theirs, but yeah, they’ve got the pace. Especially if Oscar finds the pace that Lando had on the high fuel, I think he’ll probably have the pace to come back. But it’s obviously a lot more difficult.”
