F1: Max Verstappen Takes Pole In Mexico Ahead Of Mercedes Duo

Reigning two-time world champion Max Verstappen took a commanding pole position in Mexico ahead of a resurgent Mercedes as George Russell and Lewis Hamilton managed P2 and P3 respectively. Sergio Perez on his home turf managed P4 in the second Red Bull. The Ferraris which have been fasting in qualifying pace through the season struggled as Carlos Sainz Jr managed P5 while Charles Leclerc who is battling Perez for P2 in the driver’s championship managed just P7, split by Valtteri Bottas in the Alfa Romeo who managed P6.

The story, of course, was of the Mercedes duo as Russell in the last qualifying lap in Q3 was in the running to steal pole position but his last lap was cancelled due to track limits violations. Lando Norris was again the stand-out McLaren driver as he nabbed P8 ahead of his outgoing teammate Daniel Ricciardo who managed P11. The McLaren duo were split by the Alpine duo of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon for P9 and P10. Alpine narrowly leads McLaren at P4 for the world constructors championship, so it will be a tight battle on a track that has long straights.

Guanyu Zhou in the second Alfa Romeo managed P12 ahead of the AlphaTauri duo of Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly who managed P13 and P14. Kevin Magnussen in the Haas managed P15 ahead of his teammate Mick Schumacher who is battling for his future in F1.

Soon-to-be retired 4-time world champion Sebastian Vettel managed P17 in the Aston Martin, though he managed to be ahead of his teammate Lance Stroll who just managed P18. The Williams duo of Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi managed to fill up the last two spots for P19 and P20 respectively.

With the world title already wrapped up, there are a couple of battles still at stake. Verstappen who equalled Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel’s record of 13 wins in a season in the last race at Austin will be looking to break the all-time record for most wins in a season, but he needs to be vary as the last two races in Mexico have been won by the driver who qualified in P3.

Mercedes will be looking to make headway and close the gap on Ferrari in the world constructor’s championship while Charles Leclerc will be desperate to make ground as he tries to pull away from Sergio Perez in the driver’s championship.

Qualifying results

1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:17.775
2 George Russell Mercedes + 0.304
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes + 0.309
4 Sergio Perez Red Bull +0.353
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.576
6 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo +0.626
7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.780
8 Lando Norris McLaren +0.946
9 Fernando Alonso Alpine +1.164
10 Esteban Ocon Alpine +1.235
11 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren +0.773 (Q2)
12 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo +0.924
13 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri +1.037
14 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri +1.120
15 Kevin Magnussen Haas +1.281
16 Mick Schumacher Haas + 1.250 (Q1)
17 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin + 1.250
18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin + 1.351
19 Alex Albon Williams +1.690
20 Nicholas Latifi Williams +1.998