Charles Leclerc and his No. 16 Scuderia Ferrari entry own the pole position for Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix. (Photo: Scuderia Ferrari)
MEXICO CITY — While setting the pace through both of the practice sessions yesterday, Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen looked poised to continue to have their stranglehold on the grid through the final practice and qualifying. However, the grid seemed quite competitive as Scuderia Ferrari and Charles Leclerc looked to take the fight right up to them.
Teams had one final opportunity on Saturday to perfect their cars ahead of qualifying and the Grand Prix on Saturday with the final round of practice. Teams were eager to go out and get the finishing touches of all of the data they would need to be able to compete for the best position possible.
Much like the previous two sessions, Verstappen brought his Red Bull to the top of the timing charts to solidify a clean sweep of the practice sessions. At the same time, the impressive pace from the Williams of Alex Albon once again showed as he found himself right behind Verstappen on the timing sheets.
Meanwhile, home country favorite Sergio Perez showed a bit of competitiveness with the third fastest time. George Russell turned around a quiet Friday to a fourth fastest time while Oscar Piastri brought his McLaren in for the fifth fastest time.
With the final practice out the way, teams now took the time to go over the data and prepared for three intense rounds of qualifying to set the grid for the Mexican Grand Prix.
Teams were ready for the first round of qualifying to start up, and when the light turned green at pit exit, teams hit the track to get their first laps in. Most teams started on the Soft tires, while surprisingly, McLaren and Mercedes sent both of their drivers out on Medium tires to save a set of Softs for later in the session.
Verstappen set a quick first lap while the rest of the grid filtered in behind him. The AlphaTauri of Daniel Ricciardo, with help from teammate Yuki Tsunoda (who will be starting from the back of the grid due to engine penalties), showed impressive speed, slotting in close to Verstappen.
However, the first round was not without its drama. First, drivers lined up at the pit exit waiting for the right time to go, gaining ire from the stewards for impeding traffic (Verstappen and Russell); then, into Turn 3, Fernando Alonso, having an uncharacteristically lousy weekend, spun his Aston Martin, bringing out the yellow flags. These yellow flags came out at the wrong time, as Lando Norris was trying to get a good second lap in due to messing up his first lap. He couldn’t improve his time and was eliminated, a shocking exit.
Joining Norris came the Williams of Logan Sargeant (who also picked up a 10-place grid penalty due to a yellow flag infringement), the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, and the Alpine of Esteban Ocon.
Teams now turned their attention to the second round and the hopes to make it into the Top 10 for the final round of qualifying. Almost immediately, Verstappen set a quick pace for his first run, and it was more than enough for his team not to send him out for a second run. Meanwhile, once again, Ricciardo shined in his AlphaTauri while the Alfa Romeos showed off with Valtteri Bottas, and Zhou Guanyu showed impressive speed.
Then again, Albon’s quick paced Williams did not transfer over into the qualifying rounds from practice. Complaining about the car feeling completely different from training due to the cooler track temperatures and losing a lap time due to cutting the course, Albon was eliminated in the second round. He was joined by Tsunoda, Alonso, the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg, and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly.
All eyes now turned to the final ten cars as the lights at the pit exit turned green to signify the start of the final round of qualifying. Verstappen and Red Bull looked quick, but the Mercedes duo of Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who had taken the fastest time in round two in his second run, looked to close the gap.
Red Bull sent out Perez and Verstappen first, with the latter setting an impressive first run. Still, in a shocking twist, the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc went across the line just a hair faster than the Red Bull, with Leclerc ultimately picking up the provisional pole. But there was still one more run left before all could be said and done.
Ferrari sent Leclerc and Sainz out for their final runs first with their new set of Soft tires and, shockingly, could not improve their times. Fortunately, Verstappen was not able to improve on his second run time, solidifying a shock front row lockout for the Ferrari team, with Leclerc on the pole and Sainz lining up beside him when it looked earlier in the weekend that they were the fourth quickest car at best.
Ricciardo continued his impressive form as he qualified in fourth in his AlphaTauri, beating out the home country favorite, Perez, in the works team Red Bull, settling for fifth. Hamilton, Piastri, and Russell brought home the sixth, seventh, and eighth fastest times, respectively, while the Alfa Romeos of Bottas and Guanyu rounded out the Top 10.
With the grid now set, teams focus on Sunday for the Mexican Grand Prix. Questions of whether Ferrari and Charles Leclerc can convert the front row lockout to a Grand Prix victory or if Max Verstappen and Red Bull will be back to where they usually run are just a couple of questions that will be answered by the time the checkered flag flies on Sunday.
