Written by Owen Bradley
Carlos Sainz Jr. stormed to pole position for the F1 Mexican Grand Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit, meanwhile Max Verstappen beat championship rival Lando Norris to second place, securing a front-row position. To the dismay of the adoring crowd, home hero Sergio Perez would only manage to qualify in 18th place after issues with his Red Bull.
Qualifying 1
Q1 would see a couple of surprising exits, with the aforementioned home-hero Sergio Perez having issues with rear end grip in his Red Bull RB20, only managing a lap time good enough for 18th place, the Mexican looking to surely entertain his home crowd for the Grand Prix on Sunday.
Oscar Piastri would also surprisingly see a Q1 exit, the Australian allegedly mounting a kerb and subsequently losing a lot of momentum, in a session which also saw multiple lap times being deleted for track limits problems, Piastri among the drivers caught out by track limits offences.
Lando Norris would top the session, setting a 1:16.505's ahead of the Ferrari's and Max Verstappen in the first session, whilst Franco Colapinto, Esteban Ocon and Zhou Guanyu would all join Perez and Piastri in being eliminated from Q1.
Eliminated drivers: 16th - Franco Colapinto, 17th - Oscar Piastri, 18th - Sergio Perez, 19th - Esteban Ocon, 20th - Guanyu Zhou.
Qualifying 2
Q2 would see the beginning of drivers starting to really push the limits of their cars, particularly through the high speed section in Turns 8, 9 and 10 - the inside kerb at Turn 9 proving particularly difficult for drivers to navigate, as the rear tyres are over-stressed in that section of the circuit.
The tyres have a long run into Turn 1, therefore making them a slight bit colder than usual, particularly before a hard braking zone. However, through Sector 1, the circuit makes the car stop and then fire out of each corner, leading to the tyres essentially being worked quite hard.
The cars then approach the high speed technical section, a section which some may even attempt at a flat-out pace. However, some drivers began having problems in the middle sector due to the stress put onto the tyres beforehand, alongside the bouncy kerbs as well.
Norris would top the session once again, setting a 1:16.301's, a solid couple of tenths faster than Q1's top time.
However, Yuki Tsunoda would crash at Turn 12, the medium-low speed right hander that comes after a relatively lengthy back straight. The VCARB driver locked the front left tyre up before then losing the rear of the car before it had a chance to reach the apex of the corner. Tsunoda would slam into the outside barriers, with the Red Flag coming out to end Q2, to the detriment of Tsunoda's teammate Liam Lawson, who was denied a final flying lap, and will line up in 12th for the Grand Prix.
Eliminated Drivers: 11th - Yuki Tsunoda, 12th - Liam Lawson, 13th - Fernando Alonso, 14th - Lance Stroll, 15th - Valtteri Bottas
Qualifying 3
Q3 would see similar issues to those that we have seen throughout the weekend thus far, with Max Verstappen immediately setting the pace early on, only for the Dutchman's lap time to get deleted a couple of minutes later, the reigning champion seemingly exceeding track limits at Turn 2, getting on the wrong side of the inside orange kerb that sends the car bouncing wide. Unfortunately for Verstappen, his RB20 would go too far on the inside at Turn 2, a similar incident to the one that caught Leclerc out in Q2.
Carlos Sainz would come through moments later to set a lap time in the low 1:16.000's, breaking Verstappen's lap time anyway, despite the Red Bull driver's lap time being deleted. Sainz would find yet more time in the Spaniard's final flying lap, setting a 1:15.946s to take an extraordinary pole position.
Max Verstappen would recover with a lap time good enough for second place on the grid, as Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc were next across the line, just one tenth slower than Verstappen. The Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton would qualify on the third row of the grid, the pair of them a further few tenths off the fastest time.
With a long run into Turn 1, the launch at the start of the race will be absolutely crucial for the drivers, with drivers on the second and third row genuinely within a chance to take the lead into Turn 1, if they manage to get into the slipstream of the car in front.
F1 Mexican GP - Qualifying Results and Starting Grid
1st Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
2nd Max Verstappen, Red Bull
3rd Lando Norris, McLaren
4th Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
5th George Russell, Mercedes
6th Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
7th Kevin Magnussen, Haas
8th Pierre Gasly, Alpine
9th Alex Albon, Williams
10th Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
11th Yuki Tsunoda, VCARB 12th Liam Lawson, VCARB
13th Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
14th Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
15th Valtteri Bottas, Sauber
16th Franco Colapinto, Williams
17th Oscar Piastri, McLaren
18th Sergio Perez, Red Bull
19th Esteban Ocon, Alpine
20th Zhou Guanyu, Sauber
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