Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have locked out the second row of the grid for Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix with Lewis the quicker of the two in third.
The Brackley based squad are not too concerned about not being on the front row of the grid for this race, especially as Lewis only needs to finish fifth or above to win his fourth drivers title, and even if he doesn't, it will still be there in a weeks time.
Lewis knew that it would be difficult for them here, even if pole was his target. He gave it his all and unfortunately today his all was only good enough for thirdโฆ
โPole position was the goal today, but it wasn't meant to be. It was a difficult session and I think it was a difficult weekend overall,โ he said. โIt is very slippery here; and some of the issues we have with the car are a little bit highlighted by that.โ
โ I gave it everything I had, but the gap to the front was too big. Our long run pace is definitely better than our qualifying pace, so I'm not worried about that. But you need a big delta to overtake here, so track position is important.โ
โIt is a long way down to Turn 1, so we should have some fun tomorrow. I'm hoping I'm able to move forward at the start. Afterwards it should be a one-stop strategy.โ
โ The crowd looks incredible, there's a lot of energy. It's such a spectacle from above; I saw the camera from the helicopter. So winning here on Mexican soil would be pretty neat. โ
