Leclerc takes sensational pole ahead of Sainz and Verstappen as Ferrari secures front row in Mexico City | Formula 1®
Charles Leclerc took a surprise pole position at the Mexico City Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz finished second, giving Ferrari a notable front-row grid position, while reigning world champion Max Verstappen finished third.
Verstappen was the class of the field throughout practice and was at the front in all three sessions, with Leclerc outside the top 10 in FP3 while Ferrari looked like fourth fastest at best.
But Ferrari came unraveled in the third quarter, Leclerc set a sensational time of 1:17.166 minutes and was just 0.067 seconds ahead of Sainz in the first few runs, while Verstappen was a tenth behind in third place.
The trio returned to the pits for fresh soft tires but, unusually, neither Ferrari could improve in the second run. Verstappen was quicker, but it still wasn’t enough to snatch pole, meaning Leclerc takes back-to-back poles.
Directly behind him was Daniel Ricciardo, who delivered his best performance in years with fourth place.
The Australian was quick all weekend in the AlphaTauri – and made the most of a lead from his teammate Yuki Tsunoda in the first two sections of qualifying.
But when he went solo in the third quarter – Tsunoda retired in the second quarter despite knowing he would start from the back due to a series of penalties for engine and gearbox changes – he still managed it, giving AlphaTauri the best starting position of the year year.
Home favorite Sergio Perez improved in his second run to finish fifth, a quarter of a second off the pace, while Mercedes leader Lewis Hamilton finished sixth.
Norris surprisingly left in the first quarter in Mexico
After Lando Norris’ surprise exit in the first quarter, Oscar Piastri was McLaren’s sole representative in the top 10 shootout and ended up in seventh place, a fraction ahead of George Russell.
This meant that Alfa Romeo only ended up in the top 10, while Valtteri Bottas narrowly relegated his teammate Zhou Guanyu to ninth place. There was heartbreak for Alex Albon, who had starred in training and looked like he was in the third quarter, only to have his time canceled due to track limits.
Qualifying highlights: 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix
WHEN IT HAPPENED
Q1 – Verstappen is ahead while Norris suffers a surprise exit
Mercedes and McLaren sent their drivers on medium tires for the first runs in Q1, while most others decided to continue straight away with the soft tires. One of them was Verstappen, who easily set the fastest time.
Albon, who started FP3 with the second fastest time, said his Williams felt like a completely different car in qualifying – possibly because the temperatures had dropped since practice – but still did enough to get into Q2.
Elsewhere, Ricciardo was able to pull ahead of his teammate Tsunoda, who will start the Grand Prix from the back after making numerous changes to engine and gearbox components, and that helped the Australian set the third fastest time behind his compatriot and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri to reach .
Tsunoda will start the Grand Prix from the back of the grid
Things didn’t go so well for the other McLarens, however, as Norris got out of shape on his first timed lap on the soft tires – and then didn’t get the chance to try again after the yellow flag was shown for Fernando Alonso’s uncharacteristic behavior became a slow speed skid exiting Turn 3.
As a result, Norris, who has finished on the podium in each of the last four Grands Prix, was knocked out of qualifying, along with Esteban Ocon, Kevin Magnussen, Lance Stroll and Logan Sargeant, the latter complaining about traffic on his final run.
The stewards said they would investigate several drivers – including Verstappen, Hamilton and Russell – for possible violations after the session concluded.
Eliminated: Ocon, Magnussen, Stroll, Sargeant and Norris
Qualifying for the 2023 Mexico City GP: Huge shock in Mexico as Norris retires in the first quarter
Q2 – Hamilton sets the pace, Ricciardo and Bottas are the stars
Verstappen continued his good form in Mexico by leading the times after the first few runs on the soft tires, while Ricciardo and Bottas maintained the speed they had shown throughout practice heading into the final part of qualifying.
However, things didn’t go so smoothly for Albon as he found himself in the drop zone after the first few runs. The Williams driver sneaked into the top 10 with his final run, but a few minutes later his lap was canceled due to track restrictions at Turn 2 and he will start 14th.
This put Zhou into the top 10 shootout and secured second place at Alfa Romeo in the third quarter. Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz came through after making a mistake in his final run and failing to improve.
But it was frustrating for Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg, Alonso and Albon, who exited qualifying along with Tsunoda, who didn’t have to fight for a top-10 start as he will start from the back anyway due to penalties.
Eliminated: Gasly, Hülkenberg, Alonso, Albon and Tsunoda
Albon’s missed time resulted in him being eliminated in the second quarter after initially being fast enough for the third quarter
Q3 – Ferrari delivers when it matters because Verstappen has no answer
A feeling of shock permeated the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez as Leclerc put his Ferrari on provisional pole, with teammate Sainz finishing just a fraction behind in third place.
Verstappen, who had dominated the weekend up to this point, made a mistake in the middle sector, hitting the Turn 8 curb heavily and prompting his team to check his floor for damage.
As the trio set off for a final run, neither Ferrari was able to improve – but luckily Verstappen didn’t find enough time to overtake one of the red cars, something Ferrari had done for the first time since the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix gave you a front row seat.
Leclerc admitted his surprise on team radio after setting the top time. Teammate Sainz said it was the first time he had driven a good lap this weekend.
That left Verstappen in third place – the position from which he won the 2021 race – ahead of Ricciardo, who was consistently in the top five throughout qualifying, and Perez’s second Red Bull.
Mercedes ran on used tires in the early runs but couldn’t improve enough on fresh rubber to fight for the front two rows, with Hamilton sixth and Russell eighth.
Piastri finished seventh as McLaren had no car in the top six for only the second time in the last eleven races, while Bottas was unable to repeat his early form in qualifying, where he topped the top six and ended up ninth, ahead of teammate Zhou.
Ferrari secured a front row lockout for the first time since the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix
Key quote
“To be honest, I didn’t expect to be on pole position today, I thought we were missing FP3,” said Leclerc. “We had a pretty good pace all weekend, but I’m not sure it will be enough to challenge for the win. I’m not sure if first place is the best place to start here.”
What’s next
The 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix begins on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. local time. Can Leclerc hold off Sainz and Verstappen, who will have a tow at the start on the long stretch to Turn 4? Visit the RACE HUB to find out how to watch all the action from Mexico City.