Carlos Sainz Jr leads F1 qualifying at Mexico City Grand Prix

Last week in Austin, Ferrari announced to the Formula 1 world that it needed to make room for another team in the two-way battle we were expecting between McLaren and Red Bull for the Constructors’ Championship. Charles Leclerc’s victory at the United States Grand Prix, along with teammate Carlos Sainz Jr.’s P2, moved Ferrari into second place in the Constructors’ Championship, within single points of Red Bull, and within striking distance of McLaren at the front of the field.

Saturday in Mexico City brought more good news for the Scuderia.

Sainz took pole position ahead of rivals Max Verstappen and Lando Norris and away from Leclerc to earn his first P1 start in a grand prix this season. Leclerc is set to start fourth, giving Ferrari a pair of drivers on the front two rows and, as we’ll see in a moment, it gives the team the chance to make another big jump in the Constructors’ Championship on Sunday. Get it.

“Very happy and yes, a great two laps,” Sainz told James Hinchcliffe trackside. “I just put in two very solid laps in Q3.”

Sainz said his comfort level inside the SF-24 has taken a step forward in recent weeks.

“Certainly since Austin, we have taken a step forward on our part,” Sainz said. “It feels like we’re going in the right direction. Obviously, I’m hoping to finish the job tomorrow but at least today’s pole position, I’ll take it because it shows progress.

How important is tomorrow for Ferrari as a team, given that both Sainz and Leclerc are starting in the top ten? The driver noted that the Scuderia faces a big opportunity when the lights go down on Sunday in Mexico City.

“Of course bringing home both cars is our number one priority, but especially if you win the race the extra seven, eight points are important for the constructors,” Sainz said. “Hopefully our race pace should be good enough to win it.”

Sainz and Ferrari are the big winners on Saturday, but will that continue on Sunday?

Time will tell, but given what we saw on Saturday, and what we saw in Austin last week, red could be the dominant color on Sunday in Mexico City.

Here are the full qualifying results, as well as some more winners and losers from qualifying at the F1 Mexico City Grand Prix.

Winner: Max Verstappen

For a moment it looked as if Max Verstappen was going to run away with pole position.

Verstappen’s first lap in Q3 was a shot across the bow of the entire field, a strong lap that rocketed him to the top of the timing sheets, with a huge gap between his time and that of Lando Norris in P2.

But then, that time was gone, as Verstappen’s lap was canceled due to exceeding track limits. This put the Red Bull driver, who had already seen Sergio Perez out in Q1, under a huge amount of pressure to deliver a lap when he and his team needed it most.

The champion then did what champions do, driving through the streets of Mexico City in his RB20 with Sainz on the front row. Although he did not achieve pole position, Verstappen split the Ferraris and would start just ahead of Norris, who qualified third.

“A lot (of pressure),” Verstappen said of his final round of qualifying. “Very happy to be in the front row. Honestly, I didn’t expect this to be possible.

“It’s probably one of the most difficult tracks to get on the right track,” Verstappen said. “It’s one of the trickier things on the calendar.”

Thanks to his strong lap, Verstappen has a chance to move a few points ahead of Norris in the Drivers’ Championship, and perhaps Red Bull has a chance to pull a few points closer to McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship battle.

However, Ferrari and Norris himself may have the final say.

Loser: Sergio Perez

The hometown hero arrived in Mexico City again under pressure to perform well in his home race. Sergio Perez, speaking to the official F1 channel earlier this week, admitted he was in the midst of a “terrible season”. After the United States Grand Prix on Sunday, Red Bull boss Christian Horner said the team needed better performances from Pérez, and he hoped the hometown fans in Mexico City would motivate him to deliver quality performances.

This did not happen on Saturday.

Despite roars echoing across the circuit every time he took to the track in his #11 RB20, the best Pérez could do was P18, as he was eliminated in Q1.

This means that once again, Red Bull will only have Max Verstappen to battle as the team hopes to remain within striking range of McLaren at the top of the Constructors’ Championship standings.

Winner: Alexander Albon

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

The growing legend of Franco Colapinto at Williams has been costly for the team.

Pressure from some people is increasing on Alexander Albon.

When Albon collided with Oliver Bearman in Q1 on Friday, his first day of practice ended early and questions arose on social media about whether Colapinto’s success was beginning to get to Albon a bit, and whether the experienced driver Is feeling hot. ,

Consider the answer to that question, at least for now.

Albon entered Q3 for the first time since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and when the lights go out on Sunday, Albon will start from ninth, which will put him in a position to give Williams and himself some much-needed points.

Loser: Oscar Piastri

As mentioned above, Perez’s elimination in Q1 means Verstappen will be the only Red Bull driver fighting at the front after lights out on Sunday.

Similarly, Lando Norris will be the only McLaren driver fighting at the front.

Oscar Piastri had a shock elimination in Q1, marking the first time that an Australian driver failed to reach Q3 in the Grand Prix qualifying format this season. Piastri had a lap removed for crossing track limits at the start of the first segment of qualifying and with seconds running down in Q1 he struggled to find the required lap time. He finished in P17 and will need to do a lot more tomorrow.

Winner: Pierre Gasly

Photo by Kim Illman/Getty Images

For the second race in a row, Alpine saw a driver advance to Q3.

For the second race in a row, that driver was Pierre Gasly.

Gasly entered Q3 during the United States Grand Prix in Austin, having topped the timing sheets in both Q1 and Q2. While starting from sixth after George Russell needed to start from the pit lane following his difficult shunt in Q3 at Austin, he ultimately finished seventh, a sign that the recent upgrades to the A524 were paying dividends. Were paying.

Gasly’s performance on Saturday in Mexico City is further proof of this fact.

Similar to Austin, Gasly entered Q3, having been named at the top of the timing sheets at various moments in both Q1 and Q2. As Julian Palmer noted on F1TV, Gasly has been showing “a bit of form” in recent weeks, with the A524 starting to show some better one-lap pace with recent upgrades. Gasly qualified eighth on Saturday, and will start ahead of Alexander Albon, giving Alpine the chance to get closer to Williams as those two teams battle for eighth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Losers: VCARB

With ten seconds left in Q2, Yuki Tsunoda encountered a barrier upon entry into the stadium section at Turn 12, and his lockup brought out the red flag.

Visa Cash App Times were tough for the RB F1 team.

Tsunoda was eliminated just seconds after both Haas drivers – Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg – finished in the top ten, dropping both Tsunoda and Liam Lawson into the elimination zone.

With the red flag flying with only seconds remaining in Q2, the session ended, and the timing not only meant that both VCARB drivers were eliminated in Q2, but it also meant that their main rivals at Haas Will be vying for sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship. Stay ahead of them when the lights go out on Sunday and start on the inside of the point.

“It was a clean lap, we should have gone through it easier, it’s disappointing,” Lawson told the official F1 channel after Q2. “It will be like this every weekend, same as Austin. All these tracks are completely new. “The three practice sessions were good… we are in a good place to fight for points tomorrow.”

Nevertheless, the end of Q2 was a cruel break for VCARB as the season reached a critical moment.

Winner: Haas

While it was a tough day for VCARB, it was another strong day for their rivals in the battle for sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship, as both Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg charged into Q3. Magnussen is set to start seventh on Sunday, while Hulkenberg completed Q3 with the tenth-best time in the session.

Haas arrived in Texas for last week’s United States Grand Prix and finished seventh in the Constructors’ Championship standings, three points behind VCARB in that battle for sixth place. But with double-digit results in last week’s F1 sprint race and an eighth-place finish behind Hulkenberg in the main event, Haas left Texas with a two-point lead over VCARB.

With both drivers now starting inside the points – and Tsunoda and Lawson both close behind them – Haas is in position to extend that lead on Sunday.