Lewis Hamilton firmly rejects Mexico F1 theory surrounding Ferrari trick

Lewis Hamilton has firmly rejected the idea that Ferrari's smaller turbo is yielding stronger results in the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend. 

Coming into the weekend, it was expected that the 2026-spec power units would be given their greatest test thus far, owing to Mexico City being 2,285m above sea level - where air density is 25% lower than at sea level.

This means the engines, and specifically the turbochargers, must work harder to force air into the engine, with the phenomenon of turbo lag expected to be prevalent - this being the delay between power demand and the turbo spooling up enough to provide the requested power.

For 2026, this is set to be a harder challenge for the turbo as the MGU-H, which helped in eliminating turbo lag, has been removed from the power units.

For the Ferrari-powered cars on the grid, this was expected to be an advantage, with the turbo on the Ferrari unit smaller than that of rival engines, meaning the lag is, in theory, shortened. 

However, following a Friday where team-mate Charles Leclerc topped both sessions, and Hamilton was fourth in FP1 before an engine gremlin struck in FP2, Hamilton rejected the idea.

"I don't really agree on the turbo thing," Hamilton explained.

"If you look at the speeds of the Mercedes and the Red Bull, they're still massive. They're still quicker at the end of the straights. Like they are at every race. So the turbo is just not making a difference. 

"It's still pulling more at the end of the straights, so I think we're still losing a good couple of tenths, two or three tenths, but the car is behaving really well fundamentally. Our car is working well at tracks like this. 

"I think the car feels like it's capable of competing in qualifying. But again, as I said, I don't know what it is they are able to do in qualifying. Everyone seems to take a step. I don't know if we can eke out a little bit more performance."

[Article continues below]

Hamilton on Ferrari engine issue

Turning to his stoppage mid-way through FP2, Hamilton explained that he was in the dark about the cause of the issue - but that his machine was feeling strong in his hands.

"They told me to stop. They saw some sort of problem, but it felt really good up until then," he said.

"The car was feeling great. I think we did a good job, made good setup changes, and the car was in a good place. 

"My middle sector was strong, but even on my lap, we were losing power in a few places. 

"I think I lost three-tenths. But [the bottom line] is that we've got a good car this weekend, so it is a shame to have lost this session."