An unexpected double! Ferrari took the first two qualifying places for the Mexican Grand Prix on Saturday with Charles Leclerc’s pole position ahead of Carlos Sainz, while Max Verstappen (Red Bull) had to settle for third place.
The Scuderia, which seemed to have lagged behind since the beginning of the weekend, caused a surprise by taking the first two starting positions from the nose of the three-time world champion, who presented himself as a big favorite after his victory and was fastest in the three free practice sessions.
But that didn’t include the red single-seaters, which set two excellent times just a few seconds apart and beat the Dutchman by 97 and 30 thousandths respectively.
Leclerc secured the 22nd pole position of his career, the fourth of the season and the second in a row after last weekend’s US GP.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect to be on pole today because it looked like we lacked a bit of pace. Starting from pole here isn’t necessarily the best place, but I’m happy to accept it. Our pace was decent this weekend, but I’m not sure if it will be enough to fight for victory,” explained the Monegasque.
“It was very strange, all weekend I was struggling to put everything together and suddenly in the third quarter… I find it hard to understand where we could have gained half a second in the third quarter. It’s unbelievable!” We managed to do the right lap at the right time and that’s all that matters,” added his Spanish teammate.
Verstappen, who can improve his winning record over the course of a season (15) if he wins in Mexico on Sunday and become the fourth-winningest driver in F1 history along with Frenchman Alain Prost, has tried everything to regain control, but he slipped a little on a curb and failed in his attempt to get his 11th pole of the season.
The Ricciardo surprise, Norris missed
“It is very difficult here because there is very little grip due to the altitude. We had a bit of trouble in the last sector, but we can expect a long race tomorrow. “I would have liked to start first, but I will have a good slipstream until the first corner,” emphasized the Dutchman, who started from only sixth position in Austin last Sunday.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who returned to the track in Austin last weekend after a hand injury suffered in the Netherlands at the end of August that saw him miss five races, took a surprise fourth place in his fourth race of the season.
He even allowed himself the luxury of beating local hero Sergio Pérez (Red Bull), who had to settle for fifth place despite the unconditional support of tens of thousands of enthusiastic fans.
Just behind the Mexican, with whom he is fighting for second place in the championship, is the seven-time British world champion Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), who set the fastest time in Q2.
The Australian Oscar Piastri saved the honor of McLaren, the team that has been in good form in recent weeks, by driving for the seventh time, just minutes after the big failure of Lando Norris, who retired in the first quarter after finishing 19th. The Briton should start in 18th place as Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda will drop to the back of the grid due to replacing several parts of his engine.
Aston Martin confirmed its current difficulties by achieving new disappointing qualifications as Spaniard Fernando Alonso and Canadian Lance Stroll will start in 13th and 17th respectively.
On the French side, the Alpine single-seaters also disappointed as none of them reached Q3: Pierre Gasly starts in 11th place, while his teammate and compatriot Esteban Ocon starts from 15th place.