Mexico City GP Qualifying: Carlos Sainz claims dramatic pole position from Max Verstappen and Lando Norris | F1 News

Carlos Sainz took a sensational pole position for the Mexican Grand Prix, beating title protagonists Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.

Sainz took his first pole for more than a year with two laps good enough for pole as Verstappen salvaged his qualification after his first lap in Q3 was scrapped due to track restrictions.

The Dutchman is 0.225s off Sainz but will have the luxury of taking the lead over Norris, who is 57 points behind him in the drivers’ championship.

McLaren entered qualifying as favourites, but Norris could not find more pace when it mattered most and will be hoping to pounce on Verstappen before Turn One in the long run.

Charles Leclerc was left frustrated by a poor final lap as the track developed, so will start fourth ahead of Mercedes pair George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

Dramatic start-to-finish qualifying also saw home hero Sergio Perez knocked out in the first quarter, along with McLaren’s Oscar Piastre, so they will have a huge task ahead of them when the lights go out at 8pm in the live action. Sky Sports F1 and: Sky Sports’ main event.

Sainz denied title contenders position after Verstappen’s huge lap

Ferrari looked strong throughout Friday, but McLaren had a one-two finish ahead of qualifying.

However, as in Mexico City last year, Ferrari were quick as the track developed and conditions cooled slightly, which Sainz made the most of after Q3 was delayed by Yuki Tsunoda’s crash late in Q2.

The Spaniard, who is leaving Ferrari to join Williams next year, was initially quicker than Verstappen after Q1’s Q3 run, then went even quicker to the cement in his second run.

However, there was drama for Verstappen when his first lap in Q3 was scrapped for cutting into turn two, leaving him under huge pressure.

He showed why he has won the last three world titles though, improving on his illegal effort with a superb lap and, crucially, keeping the car on track to beat Norris by 0.089s to take the front row.

Norris had a poor effort in the first quarter but recovered to third and will look to take advantage of the sliding effect before Turn One.

Although none of the title contenders could come close to Sainz, who took his first pole since the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix.

“Very happy and a great few laps. A lot of times in Mexico you always feel like you can’t get a lap and it’s very difficult to slide,” said Sainz.

“But to be honest, my two laps in Q3 were almost identical, almost perfect. I just had two really solid laps in Q3 which was good enough for pole and very happy because it’s not usually the case in Mexico how difficult it is.”

Leclerc had two messy laps in the final stretch of qualifying, so had to settle for fourth, but Ferrari still has the chance to close the gap to 48 points over McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship after Piastre and Perez crashed out in Q1.

Russell finished fifth in his underpowered Mercedes after his big crash in second practice.

The British driver’s car has been a Mercedes of Miami since May, as the team did not have enough spare parts and had to change its chassis overnight.

Although he was able to overtake Hamilton, who has a new floor in his car, he made a mistake in the last lap of qualifying.

Perez and Piastre were knocked out early

Perez has been a driver under pressure after a self-confessed “terrible” season, with the home crowd expecting him to perform at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

But it all went wrong in the first part of qualifying, when all three of his circuits were simply uncompetitive and resulted in a fifth-quarter exit in 2024.

The Mexican clearly lacked the confidence to attack the corners, so will start from 18th, behind Piastre, who made a costly mistake in Q1.

“It’s very difficult, very difficult to stop the car. I just couldn’t get on top of it,” said Perez, who is under pressure to keep his Red Bull spot despite being under contract until 2025. Sky Sports F1.

“I couldn’t stop the car early enough and I was just putting too much energy into the tire braking. That was the main problem for me.

“It was a lot like the weekend. I just can’t stop the car and I struggle a lot with the low speed part of the stage, it’s a bit like Austin where I just can’t attack. corners in braking and here you have a lot.

“(On Sunday) it’s just very important to try to maximize the day. If we can get good points it will be a massive effort but it will be very difficult from the position we are in.”

Piastre was cornered in turn four in his first qualifying session, then the turn was wiped out for a wide run in turn 12. However, that lap was still not enough to make it to Q2, but a mistake cost him nearly a second. time

Now on the older soft rubber, Piastre didn’t have the tire life to break out of the bottom five and is highly unlikely to help Norris in the title race, as Perez did with Verstappen.

“I just went through turn 12, floated to the edge there and that was it,” Piastri said. Sky Sports F1.

“My lap would have been easy enough, so it’s very frustrating to make that mistake. I lost about a second. Pain.

“It’s just a difficult circuit, but I don’t think qualifying was difficult, I just made a small mistake and that’s it.

“We’re in a similar position to Lando last year, so I’ll make sure I do my homework on how he went through the field and try to do the same, I guess.”

Sky Sports F1 live Mexico GP schedule

Sunday October 27
18.30. Grand Prix Sunday. Mexico GP Rally*
20:00. MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX*
22:00. Checkered flag. Mexico City GP reaction

*also live on Sky Sports Main Event (race meeting on Sunday from 19:30)

Formula 1 America’s triple strike continues on Sunday with the Mexico City Grand Prix, with the lights out at 8pm, live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month membership. no contract, cancel anytime