Photo: RacePictures.

Hamilton surprised by Ferrari pace and McLaren’s Mexico slump

15:00, 25 Oct

Updated: 17:04, 25 Oct

byNorberto Mujica

Lewis Hamilton says he was left “surprised” by Ferrari’s strong performance and McLaren’s apparent loss of form after finishing fifth in second practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix.

I saw a GPS of one of the McLarens but they think they lost a bit of time in the high speed so I don’t know where they’ve lost their pace

- Lewis Hamilton

The Mercedes driver returned to action in FP2 after sitting out the opening session to allow Ferrari development driver Antonio Fuoco to complete his rookie outing. But Hamilton admitted he struggled to find confidence in the car, describing the high-altitude conditions at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez as “very tricky”.

“I’m surprised how relatively close we are given how not great it felt,” he said. “I mean every time you come here the grip is, because of the altitude we’re all running pretty high downforce but it feels lower than Monza. So you’re sliding around trying to find grip but it’s just not there. But yeah it wasn’t disastrous."

Hamilton praised Fuoco’s work in FP1 but admitted the W15 still felt unbalanced and that there is significant setup work to be done overnight.

“Antonio did a really great job. So nice to be able to watch him drive and experience and have fun in my car, which is really cool.

"And then yeah, the car was sliding around a lot. The balance is very open. I’ve got a lot of work to do overnight to try and figure out how to find a more streamlined balance.”

Lewis Hamilton placed P5 in FP2. Photo: RacePictures

Ferrari impress as McLaren struggle

Ferrari’s pace in FP2 caught Hamilton’s attention, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz both finishing inside the top three. McLaren, however, appeared to lack the form that has made them consistent front-runners in recent weekends.

"I saw a GPS of one of the McLarens but they think they lost a bit of time in the high speed, so I don’t know where they’ve lost their pace,” Hamilton said. “But I’m sure they’ll pull out some good pace tomorrow, they’re a great team.”

Lewis Hamilton wonders where McLaren's dominance has gone. Photo: RacePictures

Mercedes focused on tyre work and setup balance

With the circuit expected to gain grip on Saturday, Hamilton said Mercedes will be cautious about making major overnight changes as they look to extract more performance from the tyres.

“There’s always a danger with it but I don’t think you can make it worse,” he explained. “We won’t be silly with the decisions we take. We’ll look through the data tonight and come up with some plans. I definitely don’t want to race what we had today. The long-run balance wasn’t disastrous, but we need to get more from the tyres.”

Hamilton: McLaren must be ‘more cut-throat’

According to the Ferrari driver, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri need to be more "cut-throat" in their fight against reigning champion Max Verstappen. If they don't the McLaren drivers risk losing a title that five race weekends ago seemed to be secure.

“If they don’t, they risk losing a title that five race weekends ago looked to be in their hands,” Hamilton said.

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