Lewis Hamilton says Red Bull is “in a league of their own”, but stressed that he can still take victory in Mexico as he bids to seal the 2018 title.
Hamilton will be assured of a fifth World Championship if Sebastian Vettel fails to win the race, and needs only seventh even if his sole rival is first across the line.
Hamilton will start the race from third place, with Vettel fourth, as Red Bull secured its first front-row lockout of the hybrid era.
Daniel Ricciardo edged practice pacesetter Max Verstappen by just 0.026s to grab top spot.
Hamilton was enthused by Mercedes’ progress since Friday’s second practice session, in which he classified seventh, commenting: “This is a great day for us.
“Considering how bad yesterday was for us, I really want to say a big thank you to everyone back at the factory who’ve been working hard overnight and also the guys here, to rectify the issues we’ve had and get the car back into a sweeter spot.
“These guys were just too quick. They were in a league of their own in general up until qualifying and even in qualifying.
“If you look at his middle sector, there was no way I could get that. To be as close as I am, I’m really quite happy with that, and to be on third, it’s not a bad start.”
On whether Mercedes has the speed to beat Red Bull in race trim he said: “I don’t think so. I think these guys do generally have the better pace.
“On tracks like this, for whatever reason, I guess the Renault engines working really well but more so the higher downforce level that they usually are able to achieve is definitely helping for sure.
“But I guess the race pace was not so bad yesterday but those guys again were in their own league in that section.
“We have improved the car so I’m hoping tomorrow we can still give it a fight and if we’re able to gain any ground at the beginning, then game on!”
Hamilton last year secured the title at the Mexican Grand Prix, having recovered to ninth in the wake of copping damage in a Turn 2/3 clash with Vettel.
Hamilton played down suggestions that he could adopt a cautious approach on the first lap, given the long run to the Turn 1/2/3 complex.
“Everyone’s going to be barrelling into Turn 1 to gain, so it’s a very, very fine line,” he said.
“If you go easy, you can get hit. If you go too aggressive, you can hit or still get hit.
“You’ve got to race it like normal and go in for the win. That’s what I’m going to be doing. I mean, that’s what we’re here to do, is to race.”
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