Verstappen: Mexico City has very low grip

Max Verstappen was the favorite to qualify for Mexico City, but the reigning world champion only set the third fastest time, 0.097 seconds behind polesitter Charles Leclerc. Max attributed his result to a lack of grip on the track and therefore problems in the slow third sector.

His Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Perez qualified fifth at his home circuit.

Max Verstappen (3rd): “Qualifying turned out to be very difficult. On this circuit there is very little grip on the asphalt due to the high altitude, so if you try to attack harder the car will simply stop listening to you. This is exactly what happened in the finale. Overall, I couldn’t complete the circle, especially in the last sector, which had more problems than I would have liked.

In any case, the results are tight and the race will be long. There are many laps to complete and points are awarded based on the results of the race. I look forward to Sunday with confidence.

Of course I would like to start from pole, but I will have a good slipstream before the first corner. Let’s wait and see what happens.”

Sergio Perez (5th): “The result is not what I would like. On the second set of tires I didn’t have the best attempt in the final. As I finished the round I realized I could have done better here and there; one or two tenths could have noticeably changed my starting position. Not the most ideal situation.

The grip on the road turned out to be extremely low. The temperature only changed two or three degrees, but I felt it. Nowadays, every set of tires behaved differently. As I said, the grip was very low, but this is a normal situation in Mexico, given the high altitude.

It’s a long race, the stretch to the first corner is also long, so a lot can happen at the start. Of course I would like to start from the front row or, in extreme cases, from the second row, but there are still chances because we don’t know how fast the Ferraris will be in the race.”