Deploy Folding Table of contents
Carlos Sainz has achieved a remarkable achievement by securing pole position for the Mexican Grand Prix with an astonishingly quick lap. Following him is Max Verstappen, who clocked the second-fastest time, while Lando Norris is right behind, competing closely as his title challenger. Unfortunately for Sergio Pérez, Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull, his performance fell short once again as he was eliminated in Q1 of the qualifying round, leaving him to start from P18 in his home race on Sunday.
Q1: Pérez and Piastri Meet Early Exit
Max Verstappen kicked off his qualifying session in Mexico with a strong start, showing resilience despite two disrupted practice sessions. He recorded an impressive opening lap time of 1:16.998 on soft tires, putting him two-tenths of a second ahead of Lando Norris, who opted for medium compounds at that stage. As Q1 progressed, Norris made a notable comeback, finishing the session in first place with a time of 1:16.505, overshadowing both Carlos Sainz and Verstappen.
However, the real disappointment emerged for Sergio Pérez, who experienced a crushing blow on his home turf. He clocked in with the eighteenth fastest time, marking another setback in what has been a challenging season for the Mexican driver. After the session, Pérez expressed frustrations regarding braking issues. Oscar Piastri also faced an untimely exit, managing .comy a seventeenth fastest time despite being in a competitive car. It’s worth noting that Pérez has faced Q1 eliminations more frequently than drivers like Lance Stroll from Aston Martin and Yuki Tsunoda from Visa RB this season.
- Eliminated in Q1: Franco Colapinto, Oscar Piastri, Sergio Pérez, Esteban Ocon, Guanyu Zhou.
Q2: Tsunoda’s Crash Affects Visa RB Performance
The second qualifying round saw Lando Norris continuing to impress amidst the high-altitude atmosphere of Mexico City. He established a dominating pace early, achieving a time of 1:16.303, while Verstappen pursued with a respectable 1:16.629. Charles Leclerc, the recent American GP victor in Austin, unfortunately, struggled initially, failing to secure a time due to track limits violations.
As the session wore on, Norris maintained his strong position. Verstappen improved but still trailed by a significant margin. Just when it appeared the qualifying session would finish without surprises, a red flag was waved due to a crash involving Tsunoda, cutting Q2 short. This incident was particularly disheartening for Visa RB as both Tsunoda and Liam Lawson were on track to potentially advance to Q3.
- Eliminated in Q2: Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Valtteri Bottas.
Q3: Sainz Dominates to Claim Pole Position
With the final round of qualifying underway, Carlos Sainz launched himself into the lead with a phenomenal lap time of 1:16.055, clearly establishing himself as the one to beat. Verstappen faced a setback when his lap time was deleted due to exceeding track limits, and Norris could .comy manage a time of 1:16.937, placing him fifth, behind Sainz, Leclerc, Russell, and Hamilton.
As the clock ticked down in the final moments of Q3, Verstappen found himself with one last opportunity to improve. He posted a compelling 1:16.171, but Sainz proved unbeatable, further improving his time to an outstanding 1:15.946, clinching pole position. Verstappen finished close behind in second, with Norris rounding out the top three.
- Top 10 Qualifiers: Sainz, Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, Russell, Hamilton, Magnussen, Gasly, Albon, and Hülkenberg.
The Mexican Grand Prix is set to kick off on Sunday at 21:00 Dutch time, promising an exciting race.
As a young independent media, Leading Sport aneeds your help. Please support us by following us and bookmarking us on Google News. Thank you for your support!
