Fred Vasseur praises Lewis Hamilton after Ferrari win first qualifying pole of 2026 in Mexico City

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur reacted to Lewis Hamilton’s first pole position for the Scuderia by describing the result as “a fantastic job” that also gave the team its first single-lap triumph of the 2026 season during Qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Hamilton’s final Q3 lap of 1m 16.514s secured his 105th career pole and his first Grand Prix pole at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in a decade. Vasseur said the margin and tension of the session highlighted Hamilton’s ability to manage the run to the end, including how he handled the high-pressure closing moments.

With Max Verstappen causing a lock-up that tightened the final sequence, Hamilton still held P1 by 0.009s over Mercedes’ George Russell. Vasseur singled out the way Hamilton conserved performance through the most critical stages of the lap.

“It’s a good one for Lewis, a good one for the team as it’s also our first pole position this year,” Vasseur said. “So far, we’ve struggled a little bit more in Qualifying than the race from the beginning of the season, and we were chasing the first pole.”

Vasseur also emphasized how the Ferrari front-row result sets up the start of the race, noting the strategic importance of positioning heading into Turn 1 and the value of clean air. He added that Ferrari would now focus on what could happen on race day after a long run to Turn 1.

Elaborating on what enabled Hamilton’s lap, Vasseur pointed to tyre management as the key differentiator. In his view, Hamilton kept the tyres working into the final corners where lap time could be gained, while avoiding overheating earlier in the circuit. “I think it’s a lot about tyre management… to not cook everything before Turn 12,” he said.

Vasseur further assessed Charles Leclerc’s qualifying, where Ferrari’s second car ended up in P3 behind Hamilton’s pole. He said Leclerc’s first attempt was strong, and that while he made “one or two mistakes” over the lap, he recovered to produce a “purple” last sector.

Looking ahead to the race, Vasseur described Ferrari’s overall race pace as “okay,” but identified the immediate objective as getting ahead at Turn 1 and ensuring clean air for the remainder of the contest. The team’s emphasis on track position reflects a circuit where overtaking and tyre behaviour can make the early phase particularly influential.