Mexico - Qualifying

The weekend in Mexico could be the one to see a new Formula One champion being crowned, so the stakes were high as the drivers prepared for Saturday's qualifying. For some of them, however, issues appeared long before the session began. Both Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson were given a one-place grid penalty following an incident in training. Esteban Ocon was supposed to participate in the Grand Prix, but an intra-team dispute led to him being replaced by Ryo Hirakawa at the very last minute. 

Q1 didn't get to properly develop before Fernando Alonso was told to stop the car on track, bringing out a red flag with 11 minutes still left in the session. Upon restart, the two Ferrari drivers moved to the top of the standings, sending a wave of hope into the hearts of all Tifosi. Alex Albon, Hirakawa, Stroll, Perez, and Bottas joined the Aston Martin driver in the elimination zone. 

Charles Leclerc continued Ferrari's good showing as he moved into P1 at the very start of Q2. He was later pushed down by Verstappen, but still remained close to the top. His teammate, Lewis Hamilton, struggled a bit more, second to last in the session with only five minutes left on the clock. He did manage to improve and get out of the danger zone. A similar situation, only with far worse results, took place in McLaren. While Lando Norris jumped to the top of the standings, Oscar Piastri fell into the elimination zone. Unlike Hamilton, he wasn't able to leave it in time and was eliminated alongside Nico Hulkenberg, Franco Colapinto, Gabriel Bortoleto, Oliver Bearman, and Carlos Sainz. 

Leclerc once again began the session on top. His position was taken away by George Russell's second run. The man on the path to becoming the new World Champion, Kimi Antonelli, wasn't able to insert himself into the fight for pole, and neither were the Red Bull or McLaren drivers. Just when it looked like Russell was sure to get the glory, Hamilton surprised everyone with a lap that put him right on top of the standings. Russell and Leclerc were behind him, and Verstappen would have closed out the second row if it wasn't for his penalty, which pushed him to P5, promoting Antonelli to P4. The second man who came into the Saturday with a penalty, Lawson, saw his weekend go from bad to worse when he got disqualified from qualifying for a technical breach. 

Order of the grid:

1. Lewis Hamilton

2. George Russell

3. Charles Leclerc

4. Kimi Antonelli

5. Max Verstappen

6. Lando Norris

7. Isack Hadjar

8. Arvid Lindblad

9. Pierre Gasly

10. Nico Hulkenberg

11. Franco Colapinto

12. Oscar Piastri

13. Gabriel Bortoleto

14. Oliver Bearman

15. Carlos Sainz

16. Alex Albon

17. Fernando Alonso

18. Ryo Hirakawa

19. Lance Stroll

20. Sergio Perez

21. Valtteri Bottas

DSQ: Liam Lawson