In a stunning turn of events, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz clinched the front row for Ferrari at the Mexican Grand Prix, outpacing the mighty Max Verstappen, who faced a post-qualifying investigation for impeding other drivers. Verstappen had been dominant throughout practice but couldn't maintain his lead in the crucial qualifying session.
Both Leclerc and Sainz managed to significantly improve their lap times between Q2 and Q3. Leclerc shaved seven-tenths off his time, while Sainz found 1.1 seconds. This sudden burst of pace enabled Ferrari to achieve its first front-row sweep of the season.
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Despite his impressive practice performances and topping Q1, Verstappen couldn't match the Ferrari pair in Q3. He ended up 0.097 seconds behind Leclerc and 0.030 seconds behind Sainz. Verstappen's day went from bad to worse as he, along with Fernando Alonso and George Russell, caused delays at the end of the pit lane during Q1, potentially leading to an impending offence investigation. However, this stewards found no penalty required for the Dutchman in a post-session investigation.
Daniel Ricciardo secured an impressive fourth place in his AlphaTauri ahead of home favourite Sergio Perez, who took fifth, followed by Lewis Hamilton in sixth. Young driver Oscar Piastri claimed seventh, with George Russell, Valtteri Bottas, and Zhou Guanyu completing the top ten.
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Various drivers faced investigations related to yellow flags during qualifying, including Verstappen, Russell, and Hamilton. Zhou Guanyu, Valtteri Bottas's teammate, believed he was out of Q2. Still, he received a late reprieve when Alex Albon had his best time deleted due to track limits. This propelled Zhou back into the top ten, giving him his best qualifying position since a remarkable fifth place in Hungary.
However, several prominent drivers faced elimination in Q2, including Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg, and Fernando Alonso, who had a late lap that showed promise but ultimately landed him in 14th.
Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda decided not to set a time in Q2, as his engine penalties meant he would start at the back of the grid. Amid all the action, a peculiar incident unfolded. Tsunoda appeared to make contact with a Williams jack as he left the pits ahead of the final Q3 runs, an incident now under investigation by the stewards.
In the initial qualifying segment, led by Verstappen, a twist arrived (literally) when Fernando Alonso spun at Turn 3, prompting yellow flags. This hampered a group of drivers who were preparing for their final laps. As a result, Esteban Ocon, Kevin Magnussen, and Lance Stroll could not improve their times, leaving them vulnerable to elimination. Norris also faced a challenging moment when Alonso's spin brought out yellow flags, forcing him to abandon his final lap.
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This led to Lando Norris finding himself outside the top 15 in Q1, struggling to make it to the second part of qualifying. Logan Sargeant continued his challenging rookie F1 season, finishing 20th and last in qualifying. His situation worsened as he is now subject to a post-qualifying 10-place grid penalty for an overtaking incident under yellow flags.
Overall, an unexpected front-row lockout by Ferrari sets up an intriguing Mexican Grand Prix, although Verstappen will be expected to win on Sunday.
