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At the Rodriguez Brothers Circuit it is difficult to overtake, a lot depends on the position on the track, so qualifying is crucial, but the pole holder is not always lucky. In seven Grand Prix after the circuit returned to the calendar, the race was only won three times by the driver who started first.
Max Verstappen led the training on Friday and Saturday, but the results were tight. Pirelli brought three ‘soft’ compounds to the podium: C3, C4 and C5, labeled Hard, Medium and Soft.
In the first session Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari drivers made their first attempt on Medium, the rest went straight to Soft. Everyone took the second attempt on Soft.
The track conditions changed with each lap, as if many riders were on the top line after rain. Sargent’s lap was canceled due to exceeding the limits of the track, leaving him out of time – the stewards will also have to let him start.
Alonso spun into Turn 3 and everyone was in the way of traffic. Verstappen topped the timesheet with 1:18.099, while Ocon, Magnussen, Stroll, Norris and Sargent were out of contention.
The stewards noticed several incidents at once: Hamilton, Sargent and Tsunoda did not slow down enough under yellow flags, and Russell, Norris and Zhou drove too slowly.
In the second session everyone went to Soft. On the first attempt, Verstappen topped the protocol with 1:17.625, on the second Hamilton was faster with 1:17.571. Gasly, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Albon and Tsunoda did not qualify for the final.
In the final everyone went to Soft. On the first attempt, Leclerc was the fastest: 1:17.166. Verstappen asked to check the car due to possible underbody damage after attacking the curb in turn eight.
On the second attempt, Verstappen only finished third and the Ferrari drivers occupied the entire first row of the starting field.
Charles Leclerc won qualifying in Mexico City, taking the 22nd pole of his career and the fourth of the season. His teammate Carlos Sainz will start second tomorrow, the second row of the starting field is shared by Verstappen and Ricciardo, who achieved his best result of the season.
Qualifying results
| Pilot | Team | 1 session | Session 2 | Session 3 | ||||||
| M | Time | Kr | M | Time | Kr | M | Time | Kr | ||
| 1. S. Leclerc | Ferrari | 4 | 1:18,401 | 5 | 6 | 1:17,901 | 6 | 1 | 1:17,166 | 6 |
| 2. K. Sainz | Ferrari | 8 | 1:18,755 | 5 | 10 | 1:18,382 | 6 | 2 | 1:17,233 | 6 |
| 3. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1 | 1:18,099 | 6 | 2 | 1:17.625 | 3 | 3 | 1:17,263 | 6 |
| 4. D. Ricciardo | AlphaTauri | 3 | 1:18,341 | 3 | 4 | 1:17,706 | 6 | 4 | 1:17,382 | 6 |
| 5. C. Perez | Red Bull | 6 | 1:18,553 | 6 | 8 | 1:18.124 | 4 | 5 | 1:17,423 | 6 |
| 6. L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 7 | 1:18,677 | 6 | 1 | 1:17,571 | 6 | 6 | 1:17,454 | 6 |
| 7. O. Piastri | McLaren | 2 | 1:18,241 | 6 | 5 | 1:17,874 | 6 | 7 | 1:17.623 | 6 |
| 8. D. Russell | Mercedes | 12 | 1:18,893 | 7 | 3 | 1:17,673 | 6 | 8 | 1:17,674 | 6 |
| 9. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 5 | 1:18,429 | 5 | 7 | 1:18.016 | 6 | 9 | 1:18.032 | 6 |
| 10. G.Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 15 | 1:19.016 | 6 | 10 | 1:18,440 | 6 | 10 | 1:18,050 | 3 |
| 11. P. Gasly | Alps | 13 | 1:18,945 | 9 | eleven | 1:18,521 | 6 | |||
| 12. N. Hulkenberg | Hare | 14 | 1:18,969 | 6 | 12 | 1:18,524 | 6 | |||
| 13. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 10 | 1:18,848 | 8 | 13 | 1:18,738 | 6 | |||
| 14. A. Elbon | Williams | 9 | 1:18,828 | 6 | 14 | 1:19,147 | 6 | |||
| 15. Yu.Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | eleven | 1:18,890 | 7 | 15 | – | 4 | |||
| 16. E. Okon | Alps | 16 | 1:19,080 | 6 | ||||||
| 17. K.Magnussen | Hare | 17 | 1:19,163 | 9 | ||||||
| 18. L. Walk | Aston Martin | 18 | 1:19,227 | 9 | ||||||
| 19. L.Norris | McLaren | 19 | 1:21,554 | 6 | ||||||
| L. Sargent | Williams | 20 | – | 6 | ||||||
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
