Charles Leclerc is leading his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz in a surprising one-two position. Meanwhile, world champion Max Verstappen is in third place for Red Bull after avoiding a penalty for blocking the pit-lane exit.
Charles Leclerc led his teammate Carlos Sainz to secure a surprising front-row lockout for Ferrari in the qualifying session of the Mexico City Grand Prix.
World champion Max Verstappen seemed set to secure pole position for Red Bull. However, he could only secure third place as the Ferraris unexpectedly rose to the top of the timesheet.
Leclerc set a time of 1:17.166 in the first run of Q3, giving him a 0.067-second advantage over Sainz. Neither of the Ferrari drivers were able to improve on their second run, and Verstappen’s better lap at the end was not enough to secure a front row position.
Verstappen had to wait for nearly three hours to confirm his third place on the grid. The stewards investigated him for blocking the pit-lane exit during a chaotic finale to Q1, but they decided not to take any further action.
Daniel Ricciardo, from AlphaTauri, had an impressive moment in his Formula 1 comeback. He made a statement by finishing ahead of Sergio Perez from Red Bull, securing fourth place at Perez’s home race in Mexico.
Lewis Hamilton had to wait for the results of an investigation after the session to confirm his sixth place. The investigation was conducted because he did not slow down when there were yellow flags at the end of Q1.
Oscar Piastri finished in seventh place for McLaren. However, the team will be very disappointed because Lando Norris unexpectedly failed to advance past the first qualifying round due to poor execution.
George Russell took eighth place, ahead of Alfa Romeo duo Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
After securing his fourth pole position of the season, Charles Leclerc will aim to break his streak of 10 races where he failed to convert his front-row starts into victories.
Mexico City GP Qualifying result
1) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
2) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
3) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
4) Daniel Ricciardo, AlphaTauri
5) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
6) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
7) Oscar Piastri, McLaren
8) George Russell, Mercedes
9) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
10) Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo
Ferrari’s pace was a mystery going into qualifying after both drivers’ final runs in Practice Three were ruined by traffic. Even in the final 12 minutes of the session, it was still unclear what would happen.
Sainz barely made it to Q3 in P9, while Leclerc finished sixth in Q2, just three tenths behind Hamilton’s fastest time.
Meanwhile, Verstappen, who had led all three practice sessions, seemed to have very fast speed. He was able to relax in his garage at the end of Q2 since his first attempt was already strong enough to advance.
Verstappen was the first to go in Q3 and set a good time, outpacing Ricciardo and Perez. However, the Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc went even faster.
It was the Ferraris who went first on the final runs, and they seemed to have given Verstappen a chance to overtake them. However, Verstappen’s slight improvement was not sufficient.
Mercedes may be disappointed with Hamilton’s sixth place finish as they had hoped to challenge Red Bull.
“I did not expect to be on pole today,” Leclerc said. “We thought we were lacking quite a bit after FP3.
“But for some reason, once we put everything together it went well and on the new tyres we gained a lot.”
The surprising results at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez may be due to its high altitude. The altitude has a unique impact on different parts of the car, especially the tires.
Unfortunately, Ferrari’s advantage during qualifying could become a disadvantage on Sunday. It is expected that the team will experience more significant tire wear compared to their competitors throughout the race.
That means Verstappen remains the strong favorite to win his 16th race this season and continue making history in the sport by securing his third consecutive drivers’ championship.
Mexico City GP Qualifying timesheet
| Driver | Team | Time |
| 1. Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:34.723 |
| 2. Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.067 |
| 3. Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.097 |
| 4. Daniel Ricciardo | AlphaTauri | +0.216 |
| 5. Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +0.257 |
| 6. Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.288 |
| 7. Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.457 |
| 8. George Russell | Mercedes | +0.508 |
| 9. Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | +0.866 |
| 10. Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | +0.884 |
| Out in Q2 | ||
| 11 Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:18.521 |
| 12. Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 1:18.524 |
| 13. Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:18.738 |
| 14. Alex Albon | Williams | 1:19.147 |
| 15. Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | No time set |
| Out in Q1 | ||
| 16. Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:19.080 |
| 17. Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:19.163 |
| 18. Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:19.227 |
| 19. Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:21.554 |
| 20. Logan Sargeant | Williams | No time set |
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