"I just wasn't expecting that": Lewis Hamilton reflects on an impressive podium finish at the 2023 F1 Mexican GP

Lewis Hamilton was delighted to finish second in the 2023 F1 Mexican GP. After a difficult qualifying session on Saturday, the seven-time world champion was able to keep pushing forward and end up in podium places, which was quite surprising for him considering how difficult the rest of the weekend was for him.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he initially compared this weekend in Mexico to the one in Austin and how difficult the race weekend in Mexico was for him. He was much more focused on getting the right setup for the car. The Mercedes driver, who started the race from P6, said:

"Honestly, I just wasn't expecting that. It's just always a great feeling when you are just putting one foot in front of the other and progressing. The weekend had been really difficult compared to the last race where we had just hit the ground running.

"This weekend I was really digging deep to try and get the set-up right and I think we did a great job."

Furthermore, Lewis Hamilton stated that he was most focused on finishing ahead of both Ferrari drivers to further solidify Mercedes' second place in the constructors championship. Since the British driver was able to accomplish that, he was quite delighted with the result.

"Qualifying was a bit tricky and to be far behind the Ferraris, we need to finish ahead of them to keep the constructors' [position] so that's what I was pushing for today.

"To have progressed so well through the early phase of the race and be challenging for a podium and then a second place is amazing. I am really happy with the race."

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Lewis Hamilton is more focused on helping Mercedes secure second place in the constructors' championship

When Sportskeeda asked Lewis Hamilton about his fight with Sergio Perez for second place in the drivers' championship, the Mercedes driver stated that it did not matter too much to him, simply because the chase was not for the top spot.

Instead, he is much more focused on helping Mercedes secure second place in the constructors' championship and keep Ferrari at bay. He said:

“I think it's unlikely, but we’ll give it our best shot. At the end of the day, either way, it doesn’t make any difference whether we are second or third. It’s not for us to accomplish that.

"Getting the team second is more of a goal, I think that is the goal. But I think we were on a good trajectory. But obviously for us, there are only four races and Checo has to have four really bad races which is unlikely.”

After the 2023 F1 Mexican GP, the gap between Mercedes and Ferrari was 22 points. The gap between Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez, meanwhile, is 20 points.