Lewis Hamilton is done tiptoeing. After clocking his best qualifying result since joining Ferrari, the seven-time champion will launch Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix from third on the grid — and he’s made it clear he’ll be going on the offensive.
“I definitely want to be racy tomorrow,” Hamilton said after a sharp Saturday that put him on the second row, tucked directly behind pole-sitter Lando Norris. “I don’t have anything to lose, but he does. Yeah, we’ll be quite aggressive, I’m pretty sure, and hopefully we’ll be close enough to put up a good fight.”
Third is more than a number in Mexico. It’s the clean side of the start box, the right kind of slipstream, and a prime view of that long drag to Turn 1 — more than 700 meters of flat-out guesswork, nerve, and positioning. If you’re going to roll the dice at altitude, that’s where you want to be.
This has been a grind of a debut campaign in red for Hamilton, who, per his own admission, is still hunting his first Ferrari podium. Mexico’s qualifying step feels like the first time the pieces have looked properly aligned: driver calmer, car more predictable, processes sharper.
“We continue to improve on our process,” he explained. “From the moment we arrive to our debriefs, to the decisions we make as a team within engineering, within when we’re going out — all these different things. We’re continuously tightening up on some of those areas.”
There’s also the Leclerc factor. Hamilton credited Ferrari’s internal alignment and a more synchronized approach with his teammate for the recent uptick.
“How Charles and I have worked together to move the car and develop the car forwards has been really positive over the race weekends,” he said. “Our cars are pretty much identical now, and I’m finally figuring out how to drive this car that Charles has been fortunate to drive for the past seven years in terms of the characteristics. I’m finally feeling like I’m slowly getting there, so it’s good.”
That learning curve has been steep. Ferrari’s strengths and quirks don’t mirror Hamilton’s old toolbox, and the early-season misfires told the tale. But Mexico felt different: crisp laps, clear feedback, and a driver sounding as if the car is beginning to speak his language.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been up here,” Hamilton admitted of his return to the top three in qualifying. “Really grateful to the team for the hard work and the constant effort through the year. Of course, I wish we had this experience earlier in the year, but the fact is that we’re continuing to improve and continuing to stay positive, so it’s great to be up here.”
Sunday’s grid stacks up intriguingly. Norris leads the queue, with Hamilton poised to get a tow off the McLaren if his launch is tidy and the rubbered-in side does its job. The first corner complex in Mexico City can be a blender — the kind of opening where an assertive move can define the afternoon. Hamilton knows it. So does Norris.
The bigger picture? Hamilton and Ferrari have been preaching patience in 2025, and the public tone has finally matched the on-track output. Whether that translates into a podium is another matter — track position, tyre life, and Mexico’s thin air can undo the best-laid plans in a heartbeat — but for the first time in a while, the door’s ajar.
If Hamilton gets his elbows out off the line and holds station near the front, we’ll get our litmus test: how does this Ferrari look when the driver feels empowered to race on instinct rather than manage around limitations? Mexico might just give us the answer.
What’s certain is Hamilton isn’t hiding. Third on the grid, eyes forward, and a promise to be “racy” into Turn 1. You don’t have to read between the lines. You just have to watch the red car on the second row.
