Formula 1: Sainz scores pole in Mexico

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz scored pole in Mexico in stunning fashion, going quicker than Max Verstappen and the rapid McLaren of Lando Norris as Saturday’s drama-filled qualifying came to a close ahead of tomorrow’s Grand Prix. With shocking exits in Q1 and an ill-fated red flag at the end of Q2, it was a sensational afternoon of action on track.

HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the action from qualifying in Mexico as Sainz storms to pole after shock Q1 exits for Perez and Piastri

Q1 Results:

Unlike much of the weekend, Q1 started out quiet and reserved as drivers slowly pulled out on track, most clad in the soft compound tires for their first runs while McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari opted for the medium compound.

While Sergio Perez drew the cheers from the hometown crowd, Lando Norris set the pace with an early quick lap as teammate Piastri found himself some 1.3 seconds off the pace. Soon though, a familiar name found its way to the top of the time sheets as Max Verstappen slotted himself P1 as some big names, including Piastri and Perez, found themselves in the drop zone.

As drivers pulled back into the garages in preparation for the final runs in Q1 it was Nico Hulkenberg that shocked many, pulling his Haas into P2 before quickly being bumped down as Pierre Gasly went second quickest. The track evolution during the session proved to be favorable for many as Lando Norris soon found himself quickest as once again, teammate Piastri found himself in trouble when his lap time was deleted on the second run due to exceeding track limits.

Sergio Perez similarly found himself in trouble, only going 15th quickest as the time ran out, but quick laps from Kevin Magnussen and Charles LeClerc dropped Perez and Piastri into the bottom five grid spots in a shocking turn of events for both drivers. Joining the two typically front running drivers would be a surprise visit to the bottom five by Frano Colapinto, Esteban Ocon, and Zhou Guanyu.

Drivers out in Q1:

• 16th: Franco Colapinto (Williams)
• 17th: Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
• 18th: Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
• 19th: Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
• 20th: Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber)

Q2 Results:

Max Verstappen was first to set the pace in Q2 as the Dutch driver lowered the benchmark with a 1:16.629s lap on the soft compound tires as Charles LeClerc found himself victim of time deletion after sliding off track during his first timed run. It wasn’t long before Lando Norris took over P1, further lowering the pace by three-tenths over Verstappen as Mercedes made their stake for the top spot known as Russell and Hamilton slotted in third and forth.

As the clock slowly ticked down, Charles LeClerc sat in P15 with five minutes remaining as the team prepped his Ferrari for one final timed run in the session. Meanwhile, on track, Alex Albon set an impressive lap to put his Williams fifth quickest before soon being pushing down the order by LeClerc and Carlos Sainz as the Ferrari’s went third and forth quickest.

Then, with only seconds remaining in the session as drivers were starting or about to start their final lap, red flags flew for the RB of Yuki Tsunoda. Replays showed the RB lose control in turn 12 as Tsunoda broadsided the wall, halting all on-track action and ending Q2 prematurely. Though the RB driver was unhurt, the untimely crash prevented teammate Liam Lawson from improving his position as the RB team battled with Haas for grid places in a tight mid-field battle. Similarly, the Aston Martin duo of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll lost out on setting a final lap along with the shockingly quick Valtteri Bottas, who would end qualifying 15th overall.

Drivers out in Q2:

• 11th: Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
• 12th: Liam Lawson (RB)
• 13th: Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
• 14th: Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
• 15th: Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber)

Q3 Results:

As a delayed Q3 got underway it was the Haas duo of Magnussen and Hulkenberg that headed out on track first as the rest of the field soon filtered out for their first run of the session. Max Verstappen initially set provisional pole on the opening sequence before he soon became the target of track limit violations and had his time deleted, dropping him to the bottom of the time sheets as Carlos Sainz assumed provisional pole ahead of teammate Charles LeClerc.

With first runs finished and drivers cycled back out for the final runs in Q3, Carlos Sainz soon went even quicker than his initial time for a lap os 1:15.946s while teammate LeClerc went P2 after a small slide cost him time on the final lap. Max Verstappen, on a fast lap of his own, put up the second quickest time, unable to take down Sainz as Lando Norris dropped in the third fastest time, dropping LeClerc to P4 for the start of the race. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton ended fifth and sixth while Kevin Magnussen, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, and Nico Hulkenberg finished out the final grid positions.

The grid is set and it’s time for lights out on Sunday as Carlos Sainz leads the field to turn one as Lando Norris looks to take points out of Max Verstappen’s lead in the championship. The action kicks off at 14:00 local time live on your local streaming services as we continue our coverage of the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix.

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FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO 2024 Schedule

Qualifying Results: