MEXICO CITY -- Lewis Hamilton still expects to battle for victory at the Mexican Grand Prix despite qualifying third on the grid.
Hamilton's Mercedes was outpaced by both Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari and Max Verstappen in the Red Bull at the Circuit Hermanos Rodriguez on Saturday, forcing him to settle for third place on the grid, 0.446s off the pace. Mercedes arrived in Mexico with low expectations due to the high downforce setup required to combat Mexico City's thin air, but Hamilton is confident the car is more competitive over a race distance than it was over one lap.
"Firstly, congratulations to Sebastian on the 50th pole, I tried to deny it from him but it wasn't to be this weekend," Hamilton said. "I think it was a difficult session in general as it has been a difficult weekend. It is very slippery here and some of the issues we've got with the car are highlighted here. It is a little bit like Singapore.
"The gap is only a couple of tenths as I was a couple of tenths up on my last lap but didn't finish it off. Still that is a significant gap and they just did a better job. The car is working well this weekend and we are still in the fight. I think our long run pace is looking better than our qualifying pace.
"I'm not worried about that but you can't overtake here, you need a big delta to overtake something like over 1.0 second or 1.3 seconds, so positioning is important. It is a long way down to turn one so we should have some fun tomorrow."
Hamilton only has to finish fifth to secure the title in Mexico, but says he will approach the race in the same frame as mind as the rest of the season. A victory now looks less likely from the second row of the grid, but Hamilton still wants to celebrate in style from the top of the Mexico podium.
"That is the goal, pole position was the goal today but it wasn't meant to be. It was so close through practice and I think it was the first time it has been this close between five or six of us which is exciting and puts us all under pressure.
"It is a one stop strategy so it is a case of how you look after your tyres. Degradation but there isn't much degradation so far so in the race it is going to be very tough so I hope that means I can keep close even if I'm not where I want to be at turn one. Winning here would be, seeing the crowd today, it is such a spectacle here with the camera from above, and it looks incredible. There is a lot of energy in the crowd so to win it on Mexican soil would be pretty neat."