Lewis Hamilton worried it's now or never for Ferrari as stark reality laid bare

Lewis Hamilton has admitted Ferrari are unlikely to be able to replicate the pace they showed at the Mexico City Grand Prix at any other venue for the rest of the year. The seven-time Formula 1 champion produced his best Grand Prix qualifying result of the season, setting the third fastest time behind only team-mate Charles Leclerc and pole-sitter Lando Norris.

Ferrari were strong at the United States Grand Prix as Leclerc made it to the podium while Hamilton matched his best Grand Prix result of the year, finishing fourth. And the Scuderia carried that strong pace into the Mexico race weekend, mounting a serious challenge for pole position in qualifying.

While Norris beat them to it, they put themselves in a strong position to fight for the lead on the opening lap and Hamilton gave himself a good chance to finally stand on the podium for the first time as a Ferrari driver. And he admitted afterwards that he does not expect the team to have the pace to try again at any other circuit still to come in 2025.

Hamilton said: "I think this is a peculiar circuit, obviously, with the altitude, so we perhaps are closer than we would normally be, I would say. It's difficult to say where we'll be in the next races. I'm not sure we'll be as close as we are.

"But I do think through those small improvements that Charles was talking about, that we've made - they make big differences. And it feels great to finally get into Q3 and be able to deliver good laps and be competitive. That's been a problem all year, particularly on my side."

For the latest breaking stories and headlines, sign up to our Daily Express F1 newsletter, or join our WhatsApp community here.

Unlike Norris ahead, neither Leclerc nor Hamilton had any title ambitions to think about in the race. The Brit is competing against McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri and the in-form Max Verstappen, whose superb recent form has thrust him back into contention for a fifth consecutive drivers' crown.

When going up against any of them for the rest of the year, Leclerc plans to use that situation to his advantage. The Monegasque said: "I think the context is always important when you're fighting someone. You are aware that, in my case, there's not much to lose. In their cases, there's a lot to lose, so that gives a little bit of an advantage.

"But to use this advantage I need to be on their pace and, at the moment, it doesn't seem that we are on the pace of McLaren or Red Bull. But if we are, for sure, especially at the start when you have these kinds of situations, you know that these three drivers will be a bit more cautious with me. So that's a good thing to know."