The Lewis Hamilton of old returned during qualifying at the Mexican GP where the seven-time F1 champion achieved an excellent result for Ferrari.
Ferrari and Hamilton have endured a rollercoaster season, suffering Q2 exits and midfield finishes only to slowly rise again at the US GP last weekend.
The seven-time world champion missed out on his first podium with Ferrari at COTA, but his team-mate Charles Leclerc instead claimed third place, while Hamilton, ever the bridesmaid, finished fourth.
Ferrari took their success a step further at the Mexican GP however, where Leclerc and Hamilton qualified in second and third respectively.
Hamilton was one tenth off his team-mate and had been on blistering form all weekend, with the champion speechless as he joined the top three in the post-qualifying interview and was greeted with a wave of adoration from the crowd.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1’s Rachel Brookes after qualifying, Hamilton’s smile made a change from his downbeat interviews in 2025, as he expressed his hopes from Sunday’s race.
Hamilton has been working hard behind the scenes to steer Ferrari in the right direction, with reports claiming the champion has sent recommendations and suggested changes to bosses at the team.
Whether the Hamilton effect is coming into play remains to be seen, but Hamilton’s hope in his post-qualifying interview was infectious as he teased an attempt to steal the lead at the start of the race.
“This is the first time we’ve both [Hamilton and Leclerc] been in the top three in qualifying this year and the team truly deserve it,” Hamilton said.
“We are just working as hard as we can. We’ve not really moved the car forward necessarily in development, but we’ve extracted more from it and the processes are better.
“P3 is kind of the perfect spot at this track, so I’m hoping I can make the most of that.
“Our race pace is not too bad. It’s difficult to know, but we’ll try and give it a good race.”
