Hamilton rejects Ferrari theory at Mexico City GP: 'It makes no difference'
Photo: Race Pictures
Henry Eccles is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs, and features across the F1 calendar. Since joining in 2026, he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.
Lewis Hamilton has rejected the idea that Ferrari's smaller turbo will give them a performance benefit at the high altitude Mexico City GP, pointing to the impressive straight-line speed from rivals Mercedes and Red Bull.
Free Practice at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez has proven tricky for the seven-time world champion. After finishing seven tenths down on teammate Charles Leclerc in FP1, Hamilton suffered a stoppage during Friday's second session due to an apparent loss of power.
The Briton's final position after FP2 was P11, nearly seven tenths down on leader Leclerc again, although with only 13 laps completed in Mexico City.
Coming into the weekend, Ferrari's power unit was tipped to give the Scuderia the edge ahead of their rivals. At a track where air density is 25% lower than at sea level, F1 cars' turbochargers - especially without the MGU-H in 2026 - will have to work harder to take in air for the engine.
In theory, Ferrari's smaller turbo for 2026 should help them in the way of turbo lag - the delay between the driver's input and the boost from the turbocharger - but Hamilton is not buying that idea.
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Hamilton: Smaller turbo makes no difference
Photo: Race Pictures
Speaking after a difficult FP2, Hamilton was asked whether the turbo in the high altitude conditions has nonetheless given him confidence that Ferrari's overall pace in practice can be carried over for Qualifying and beyond.
"I don't really know. I don't really agree on the turbo thing," Hamilton replied. "If you look at the speeds to the Mercedes and the Red Bull, they're still massive. They're still quicker in the straights, like they are every race."
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For Hamilton, the smaller turbo makes no difference in Ferrari's bid to catch Mercedes and Red Bull this weekend, but he was confident that the SF-26 "fundamentally" works in Mexico City.
"So the turbo is not making a difference," Hamilton added. "It's still pulling more at the end of straights. So I think we’re still losing a good two or three tenths. But the car is behaving really well. You know, fundamentally, our car works pretty well."
Asked whether he was truly confident the car could help deliver a good result in Qualifying, Hamilton was positive, but again wary of superior straight-line speed from Ferrari's rivals.
"I think the car feels like it's capable of competing in qualifying. But again, as I said, I don't know what it is they are able to do in qualifying. Everyone seems to take a step. I don't know if we can eke out a little bit more performance."
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