Mexico - Qualifying

Last week saw one of the most unexpected winners of the 2024 season when Charles Leclerc stole the lead in the very first lap and held on to it until the end of the race. His win brought Ferrari closer than ever to taking the coveted P2 in the driver's championship. However, if there is one thing to know about Red Bull, the team currently occupying the place, they don't give up easily. Especially in the most important race of the season for the Mexican Sergio Perez. The question remains, who will take the pole this week? The rapid Ferraris, the determined Red Bulls, or maybe the current constructor's championship leaders? 

Most teams began Q1 on soft tires, with the two exceptions being Ferrari and Mercedes, who decided to drive out on mediums. After the first series of flyers, it was Verstappen who sat at the top of the leaderboards. He wouldn't stay there for too long, quickly overtaken by his main championship rival, Lando Norris. The McLaren driver was so sure of his performance that he was the only driver who stayed in the pits as the clock ticked down the last two minutes of Q1. While the day looked good for him, the same couldn't be said about his teammate, Piastri. The young Australian struggled to produce a good lap and had one of his times deleted for exceeding track limits. He tries to turn his luck with one last attempt, but couldn't do enough to secure a place in the next qualifying session. He wasn't the only surprise elimination. Sergio Perez, the home hero, also didn't make it into Q2 to the utter disappointment of his fans. Colapinto, Ocon, and Zhou made up the rest of the bottom five. 

After Q2 began, Verstappen and Norris quickly settled at the top of the leaderboard. At the same time, Leclerc once again found himself in danger, having his first lap time deleted for exceeding track limits. He managed to recover on his second attempt, something that could not be said about many of the other drivers. Just as late improvements put the two Haas cars in the top ten, a red flag fell over the track. It was brought on by Tsunoda who suffered a crash with only ten seconds left in the session. Q2 was not resumed, which meant that the drivers who found themselves in the bottom five as his car met the wall, namely Lawson, Alonso, Stroll, and Bottas, were immediately eliminated. 

It seemed like the fight for pole was destined to be carried out between Verstappen and Norris but, while the two managed to put in good times at the beginning of Q3, they weren't nearly as good as the two Ferraris, especially after the Dutchman's lap was deleted for exceeding track limits. Upon his second run, Sainz managed to further improve his time with a great lap that helped him turn his provisional pole into a real one. For the first time this season and the sixth time in his career he will be starting Sunday's race from the very front. His teammate managed to make it a temporary Ferrari front-row lockup, but the dreams of the Tifosi were shattered when both Verstappen and Norris slid in front of the Monegasque. The two Mercedes finished the day in 5th and 6th, followed but Magnussen, Gasly, Albon, and Hulkenberg. 

Order of the grid:

1. Carlos Sainz

2. Max Verstappen

3. Lando Norris

4. Charles Leclerc

5. George Russel

6. Lewis Hamilton

7. Kevin Magnussen

8. Pierre Gasly

9. Alex Albon 

10. Nico Hulkenberg 

11. Yuki Tsunoda

12. Liam Lawson

13. Fernando Alonso

14. Lance Stroll

15. Valtteri Bottas

16. Franco Colapinto

17. Oscar Piastri

18. Sergio Perez

19. Esteban Ocon

20. Zhou Guanyu