Hamilton has ´no real tactic´ after claiming pole

Lewis Hamilton said he does not have a specific tactic in mind for Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix and plans to just turn up and do the job after claiming pole ahead of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Rosberg can be crowned Formula One champion for the first time this weekend, but Hamilton is refusing to give up his title without a fight and will start at the front of the grid at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

The Briton has been faster than Rosberg in every session in Mexico City and stormed to pole with a blistering lap of one minute and 18.704 seconds on soft tyres.

Rosberg was 0.254 second slower than the three-time world champion, but took second on the grid with his last lap to push Red Bull’s Max Verstappen back onto the second row.

Hamilton has little margin for error given that he trails his German colleague by 26 points with three races remaining, but the former McLaren driver is not making any special plans for a race which Rosberg won last year.

The 31-year-old said: “There is no real tactic. I turned up to do the job and I’m going to try to do the same thing as a I did last week [when he won the United States Grand Prix from pole] here.

“So far this weekend has gone well. Yeah, looking forward to the race, the long runs seem to be good, the car feels great, so I’m just looking forward to getting out on track.”

Reflecting on a successful qualifying session, Hamilton added: “It’s always a tough battle. Trying to pull out the perfect laps when it counts is always a difficult thing, particularly with these tyres.

“Sometimes it’s on the first lap and sometimes it’s on the second lap that the tyres are ready. Definitely very challenging, as this track always is.

“But the track has got a lot better because there’s more grip now. Last year we were sliding around a lot more. Today it feels a lot more like a racetrack.”

Rosberg was content to come up with his best circuit right at the end of Q3.

Analysing his hot lap, Rosberg said: “I’m still two-and-a-half tenths from Lewis, so Lewis’ lap was brilliant; not so much mine.

“But no, I put it together when it counted in the end, so I’m relatively pleased with that, to definitely make sure I’m on the front row, even though it’s not pole position of course. But still that gives me a great chance for tomorrow.”