Qualifying Report - Sainz secures Mexico City pole

Carlos Sainz, Mexican GP 2024
© Ferrari

Carlos Sainz delivered a stunning performance during qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix, earning pole position with a best lap time of 1m15.946s. The Ferrari driver dominated the session, showing remarkable consistency as both of his Q3 laps were fast enough to secure the top spot. Sainz's impressive pace gave him a comfortable margin of 0.225 seconds over the Red Bull-Honda of Max Verstappen, who will start the race from second place.

Verstappen's qualifying was not without drama. The Dutchman, currently leading the championship standings, saw his first Q3 lap deleted for exceeding track limits at the Turn 2/3 chicane. This put pressure on him for his final attempt, but Verstappen responded with a 1m16.171s to secure his place on the front row. Despite not taking pole, Verstappen remains in a strong position to fight for victory on Sunday, where he will aim to extend his lead in the title race.

Lando Norris, in the McLaren-Mercedes, took third on the grid after a significant improvement on his final lap. Norris had struggled earlier in the session and was only fifth after the initial Q3 runs, but found the pace he needed in the closing moments to lock in a spot on the second row. He will be joined by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who finished fourth. Leclerc had to recover from a slight wobble in the high-speed corners but managed to deliver a solid lap, though he was three tenths slower than his teammate Sainz.

The Mercedes pair of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will start from the third row. Russell narrowly outpaced Hamilton in the final moments of qualifying, taking fifth place with a strong final lap. Hamilton, who has struggled with pace throughout the weekend, will line up in sixth. Both Mercedes drivers improved on their final attempts, but neither could challenge the top two teams for the front rows.

Kevin Magnussen delivered one of the standout performances of the day, qualifying seventh for Haas-Ferraro. This marked an impressive result for the team, with Magnussen's lap placing him ahead of Pierre Gasly, who took eighth in his Alpine-Renault. Alex Albon continued his strong form for Williams-Mercedes, qualifying in ninth, while Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten for Haas, despite a costly mistake in the final sector of his last lap.

The session was interrupted by a red flag during Q2 when Yuki Tsunoda crashed at Turn 12, bringing an early end to several drivers' attempts to improve their times. Tsunoda's incident also affected his teammate, Liam Lawson, who was unable to make it into Q3 as a result. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were both on flying laps when the session was halted and failed to progress.

One of the biggest surprises of the day was the early elimination of both Oscar Piastri and Sergio Perez in Q1. Piastri, who had shown promising speed in FP3, couldn't replicate that pace in qualifying. Meanwhile, Perez, racing at his home Grand Prix, struggled throughout the session with braking issues and could only manage 15th, a major disappointment for the local fans.