Hamilton’s Ferrari Has More to Give. Mexico Is His Next Test.

Lewis Hamilton left Austin just over a second from the podium, convinced he hadn’t extracted everything from his Ferrari. Before Mexico, he wants to understand why the setup keeps leaving him short.

Fourth place left Hamilton close enough to see what he had missed. Charles Leclerc finished second in the other Ferrari, while Max Verstappen took the final podium position just 1.030 seconds ahead of him.

Hamilton’s frustration centered on the balance of his car. He believes there is more speed available, but finding it consistently has proved difficult.

“I do believe I could be quicker if we could just get the set-up right,” he said.

A familiar problem behind the result

Hamilton started on used soft tires, which he said left him managing more degradation than the cars ahead during the opening stint. But he identified the car’s balance as his biggest difficulty.

His comparison with Silverstone was revealing. Hamilton recalled struggling there with less front wing than Leclerc and being unable to make the car turn as he wanted. Austin, he said, brought a similar problem.

That makes the preparation for Mexico particularly important. Hamilton wants to examine how those setup decisions were reached, having encountered the same limitation more than once.

Ferrari’s late pace showed the opportunity

There was encouragement in how the race developed. Ferrari committed both drivers to two stops, and Hamilton praised the team’s strategy and pit work.

In the final stint, he passed Lando Norris and closed on Verstappen. The late Virtual Safety Car interrupted that pursuit. Hamilton believed a double podium had been within reach, a view shared by team principal Fred Vasseur.

Leclerc’s race supplied further evidence of Ferrari’s pace. He overtook Verstappen for second late on, although Antonelli remained beyond reach.

The upgrades have also given Leclerc more confidence in the car. With no further major developments expected, he described the remaining task as getting the most from the package already available.

Mexico starts with Friday

Hamilton’s stated priority is to arrive competitive from the opening practice session. Vasseur also singled out qualifying as an area Ferrari needs to improve after Austin.

That matters because the team spent Sunday recovering positions before it could challenge for the podium. Strong late-race pace helped, but Hamilton ran out of racing laps to use it.

For Mexico, Ferrari’s work begins with giving him a balance he can trust earlier in the weekend.