Charles Leclerc was left to rue another 2026 qualifying session that didn’t go his way but there was added frustration as the cards fell for his Ferrari team mate Lewis Hamilton, who took a superb pole position.
Quickest in Mexico City on Friday, as has often been the case this season, Leclerc ran through the three qualifying sessions in P3, P3, P3, only beating Hamilton in the second one.
As was the case in Austin last week, the big issue was getting the tyres into the right window for an optimum qualifying lap, and once again he openly admitted that he’d got it wrong.
“I just didn’t do a good enough job,” he said. “Yes, tyre preparation is quite key. I kind of struggled to have the same conditions for my out lap throughout the qualifying.
“But at the end of the day, when I had a clean out lap in Q3, run two, I didn’t do the job. So I can only be angry with myself.”
The good news is that the SF-26 has proved well suited to the challenges of the high altitude track, and after so many unfulfilled promises in recent months Ferrari look well set for Sunday’s race.
“I think we’ve got a very strong car in the corners,” said Leclerc. “In the straight, we pay the price of less power, but also probably a bit more drag. And with driving in such conditions, so high in altitude, you pay the price a little bit less in the straights of the extra drag and of the missing horsepower.
“So, yes, it’s been a good track. And on paper, normally this year, we never really performed as we expected on the tracks we expected to be good. But this weekend has been the case, so it’s a good sign.”
Mexico is of course a very special track when it comes to the start, and the long drag down to Turn 1 means that being on pole isn’t always optimum, with Leclerc habing the chance to benefit from the tow of Hamilton and George Russell up ahead.
“I mean, I’ll keep my head down as much as possible and see what’s possible,” he said. “But, yes, it’s always an exciting Turn 1 there, and we’ll see how it goes.”
He is confident that he has a strong package for the race, while conceding that passing won’t necessarily be straightforward. “Yes, I think the pace is good,” he said. “I think the car feels good, and felt good since FP1. So I think on that we’ve got the race pace, but I doubt there will be any overtakes tomorrow. I’ve tried more in FP2, and it’s just very difficult because the overtake mode doesn’t do much.
“I think whatever is the standing after Turn 3, it’s going to be very difficult then to overtake. So, it’s a bit of a shame that I didn’t do the job eventually when it mattered.”
