(Photo: Formula One)
Carlos Sainz has taken a stunning pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver going fastest from Max Verstappen and Lando Norris during what had been a dramatic qualifying session featuring a red flag in Q2 and two shock exits in Q1.
While Verstappen initially looked to have sealed provisional pole in the first runs of Q3, the Dutchman’s time was deleted due to track limits which promoted Sainz up into the top slot. And when it came to the second runs, the Spaniard went even quicker by pumping in an impressive 1m 15.946s.
Verstappen claimed P2, the Red Bull man’s time 0.225s back from Sainz, while Norris took third after previously setting the pace in Q1 and Q2 for McLaren. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc followed in fourth, ahead of the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton on the third row.
Kevin Magnussen was the best of the rest for Haas in P7, followed by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in P8 and the Williams of Alex Albon in P9. The sister Haas of Nico Hulkenberg, meanwhile, rounded out the top 10.
Q2 was brought to a slightly premature end when Yuki Tsunoda suffered a crash at Turn 12 in the final moments, bringing out the red flags. This also meant that the Japanese driver’s RB team mate Liam Lawson did not have time to improve, leaving the pair in P11 and P12.
Another driver to miss out was Fernando Alonso during his 400th Grand Prix appearance weekend, the Spaniard ending the session in 13th ahead of fellow Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll. Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas was the final name eliminated in the segment in 15th.
There were two big shocks in Q1 when McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez both found themselves eliminated in 17th and 18th respectively, an especially tough blow for Perez in front of his adoring home fans.
Also exiting in the first part of qualifying were Franco Colapinto for Williams in P16, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in P19 and the Kick Sauber of Zhou Guanyu down in P20 to bring up the rear.
FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO 2024 – Qualifying results
|
POS |
NO |
DRIVER |
CAR |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
55 |
Carlos Sainz |
Ferrari |
1:16.778 |
1:16.515 |
1:15.946 |
21 |
|
2 |
1 |
Max Verstappen |
Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT |
1:16.803 |
1:16.514 |
1:16.171 |
18 |
|
3 |
4 |
Lando Norris |
McLaren Mercedes |
1:16.505 |
1:16.301 |
1:16.260 |
15 |
|
4 |
16 |
Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari |
1:16.972 |
1:16.641 |
1:16.265 |
21 |
|
5 |
63 |
George Russell |
Mercedes |
1:17.194 |
1:16.937 |
1:16.356 |
19 |
|
6 |
44 |
Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes |
1:17.306 |
1:16.973 |
1:16.651 |
19 |
|
7 |
20 |
Kevin Magnussen |
Haas Ferrari |
1:17.125 |
1:17.003 |
1:16.886 |
18 |
|
8 |
10 |
Pierre Gasly |
Alpine Renault |
1:17.149 |
1:17.048 |
1:16.892 |
18 |
|
9 |
23 |
Alexander Albon |
Williams Mercedes |
1:17.189 |
1:16.988 |
1:17.065 |
18 |
|
10 |
27 |
Nico Hulkenberg |
Haas Ferrari |
1:17.186 |
1:16.995 |
1:17.365 |
18 |
|
11 |
22 |
Yuki Tsunoda |
RB Honda RBPT |
1:17.182 |
1:17.129 |
|
11 |
|
12 |
30 |
Liam Lawson |
RB Honda RBPT |
1:17.380 |
1:17.162 |
|
11 |
|
13 |
14 |
Fernando Alonso |
Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes |
1:17.307 |
1:17.168 |
|
13 |
|
14 |
18 |
Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes |
1:17.407 |
1:17.294 |
|
14 |
|
15 |
77 |
Valtteri Bottas |
Kick Sauber Ferrari |
1:17.393 |
1:17.817 |
|
14 |
|
16 |
43 |
Franco Colapinto |
Williams Mercedes |
1:17.558 |
|
|
6 |
|
17 |
81 |
Oscar Piastri |
McLaren Mercedes |
1:17.597 |
|
|
8 |
|
18 |
11 |
Sergio Perez |
Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT |
1:17.611 |
|
|
9 |
|
19 |
31 |
Esteban Ocon |
Alpine Renault |
1:17.617 |
|
|
9 |
|
20 |
24 |
Zhou Guanyu |
Kick Sauber Ferrari |
1:18.072 |
|
|
9 |
Formula One Media | Photo: Formula One
