Hamilton: P4 and P5 slightly better than we predicted

Mercedes, once again, were not able to keep with the top three teams last weekend in Mexico City and benefitted from issues that some of their rivals suffered from.

Oscar Piastri and Sergio Perez were eliminated in Q1 in qualifying and thus started their races way down the grid, while Max Verstappen was slapped with a 20-second time penalty after crossing the line while racing with Lando Norris, not to mention suffering from his tyres later on in the race, which meant the Mercedes drivers had three cars less to worry about, finishing higher than expected.

Hamilton and Russell ended up racing each other, the former emerging on top in the end.

Reflecting on his race in the Mercedes' post race report, Hamilton said: "We ultimately moved forward and brought home good points today for the team. We weren't looking so racy in the first stint.

"I didn't have enough front-wing in the car and was suffering with lots of understeer. We were able to improve the balance at our second stop and our pace got better. Even if we had enjoyed that speed in the first stint though, we still wouldn't have had the pace to challenge those ahead for the podium.

"P4 and P5 is still slightly better than we predicted today though so we can be pleased with our afternoon," the seven-time Formula 1 champion insisted.

With Russell crashing in qualifying for the US Grand Prix a race earlier and also in practice in Mexico City, he was driving an older spec W15 while Hamilton had all the bells and whistles on his car. That meant the team could collect data and do some comparisons.

Hamilton added: "This hasn't been the smoothest weekend for the team, but we've gathered a lot of information across both specifications.

"We can now analyse that data and evaluate the best way forward for next weekend in Brazil and the rest of the season.

"Hopefully we can get the car in a slightly better spot for Interlagos and take the fight to the Ferraris and McLarens," he concluded.

Russell suffered from damage in his front wing, which affected his pace; he added: "I had a strong first stint, but I hit a bump as I overtook the McLaren of Oscar Piastri at the start of my second stint and picked up some front-wing damage.

"It was definitely costing me a couple of tenths a lap in terms of performance which was a bit of a shame. We had to do over 30 laps carrying that but even without it, we wouldn't have had the speed to challenge for the podium.

"Overall, then, P4 and P5 is likely where we deserved to be today as a team and perhaps a little bit better than we thought going into the race," he maintained, echoing Hamilton's opinion.

"We will keep working hard to improve as we want to be battling right at the front," Russell vowed. "We continue to make progress with the car, as you can see with the gap increasing to the teams behind us in the championship.

"We've also closed the gap on Red Bull since the start of the season but it's clear that Ferrari and McLaren have made even more progress.

"We will use these final four races of the season to continue building our learning, test different things out, and set ourselves up well for next year," Russell concluded.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff summed up the weekend in Mexico City; he said: "Overall, P4 and P5 is likely where we are pace-wise with our car at the moment.

"On circuits that demand good traction, we are not able to compete with those right at the very front. That is frustrating but we are working hard to bring more performance and build momentum for 2025.

"These final few races are a good opportunity for us to test different things and put ourselves in as strong a position as possible for next year.

"In today's race, George was hindered by front-wing damage which was costing him a good chunk of performance," the Austrian pointed out. "He still drove strongly, and his pace was decent compared to Verstappen behind.

"The Red Bull never became a threat to our race after the first pit stop. We also saw that, once he was in free air, Lewis' speed was good on the Hard compound and comparative to those at the front.

"We now head to Brazil and will be looking to end the triple-header as strongly as possible," Wolff concluded.