Another ace in the money sleeve?

(Motorsport-Total.com) – Lewis Hamilton will need seventh place Sunday to win his fifth Formula One title. The effort is for the British today during free practice in Mexico (Formula 1 2018 live in the ticker) at the successful point, but we can badume that Mercedes would not be satisfied with seventh place Sunday. The Silver Arrows were far behind the competition – especially Red Bull – with Hamilton at 1,419 seconds and Valtteri Bottas at ninth with 1,484 seconds.

"This is an unusual circuit that imposes unusual requirements on the chbadis, power supply, cooling and tires," said Chief Technology Officer James Allision. "Today, we must admit that we have not yet found the best way to meet these unusual requirements."

Like many others, Mercedes was struggling with tires today. "The high temperatures on the track were difficult because of tire melting and grain formation," explains Hamilton. He did three laps on his Hypersoft. "It would be cool if everyone started with that, because it will be difficult for everyone in the first stint."

The phenomenon also recognized Bottas: "The two tire mixes quickly grained and we had the impression that we were generally lacking grip.The car was slipping a lot, which favored tire wear," said the Finn. .

Problems Friday: "scratching your head"

But apart from Red Bull, no team today seems to have cracked the tire secret. Both on a tour and on Longrun, the bulls were clearly superior to the competition. Even Hamilton fears: "Red Bull seems to be out of reach here at the moment." Although you lie with your main competitor Ferrari on an equal footing, but Mercedes' claim is another.

The reigning world champion still sees on his car some yards to improve. "We need to catch up and so review everything during our debriefing and look in detail to find answers," said the British. "We have no definite answer to why our pace is still not correct," adds teammate Bottas. "Until tomorrow, a lot of work is waiting for us and we are scratching our heads right now."

But the Finn is convinced that Mercedes will find something for the rest of the weekend. And in fact, there is one point where the team has not put the maps in the spotlight today: "We have overheated the food unit in some areas today. That forced us to refuse it as a precaution, "says Allison. "With a bit of luck and hard work, we can put ourselves in a better position for tomorrow and Sunday, when conditions are supposed to be much cooler."

Lewis Hamilton explains clearly: "I want to win!"

The last word in terms of Mercedes' performance is not yet pronounced. In addition, it will almost certainly rain on Saturday. In Austin, the silver arrows were in their own world in these conditions. But even if the tire stays dry, the tire does not worry you too much: "We see every year here that the tires deteriorate quickly Friday, and Saturday, things generally improve a little better," says Bottas.

Hopefully, Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday as a five-time world champion from Mexico City. And even if seventh place seems more than feasible, the director of motor sport Toto Wolff believes that the sheep is not yet dry: "It is necessary to finish again, it is the turn," says the Austrian. And because you still want to win the constructors' championship, you still have to give up: "We must always perform well and be up to par."

And even Hamilton himself would be all but happy to win a seven-seat World Cup: "I want to win, that's my only goal," he says, "I never hire myself. in a race with the attitude with which I fought well Sebastian (Vettel) and I want to finish seventh, so I do not agree, I'm happy to be able to benefit from this advantage, but I still want to do my best and get the best result possible. "