Lewis Hamilton says Q3 was his "worst session of the whole weekend" despite beating Nico Rosberg to a comfortable pole position in Mexico.
Hamilton has looked strong all weekend and that continued through to qualifying, where he topped Q1 and finished second in Q2. He set a 1:18.704 in Q3, which ended up being 0.25s up on Rosberg's last-gasp lap for a place alongside him on the front row.
However, Hamilton says he found the final session the most difficult.
"Well the long runs were really strong and practice was really good," Hamilton said when asked about his race outlook. "Q3 was actually the worst session of the whole weekend so far but I know going into tomorrow we hopefully have the right strategy and I think the car is in a good place for the long runs.
"As always it's always a tough battle, trying to pull out the perfect lap when it counts is always a difficult thing, particularly with these tyres, sometimes it's the first lap and sometimes it's the second lap in which the tyres were ready.
"Definitely very challenging, as the track always is but the track has got a lot better because there is a lot more grip now. Last year I was sliding around a lot more, today it feels more like a race track, which is great."
The front row lock-out means Hamilton lines up alongside title rival Rosberg, who is 33 points ahead in the championship. Hamilton needs to win the remaining three races to keep his chances alive but says there is no need to adjust his mindset for lights out on Sunday.
"There is no real tactic really. I turned up to do the job and I'm going to try and do the same thing I did last weekend. So far this weekend has gone well and I'm looking forward to the race. The long runs seem to be good and the car feels great so I'm just looking forward to getting out on track."