By Robert Haile
A surprised Charles Leclerc took back to back pole positions with a shocking time to lead Carlos Sainz to a Ferrari front row for the Mexican Grand Prix.
The Monégasque driver had been off the pace in the first two sessions of qualifying before a monster first lap in the final session put him on pole with Sainz in second giving Ferrari their first front row since Monaco 2022
It might be a different story in the Grand Prix as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took third with a flying Daniel Ricciardo in fourth for AlphaTauri.
Pole sitter Leclerc said: “I did not expect to take pole position today. After FP3, it seemed as though we were on the back foot but once we put it all together in Q3, it went well.
“I’m already focusing on the race though, because we want to convert this pole into a win. Our pace has been good so far here this weekend, so let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”
Slotting in behind the former Red Bull driver is current driver and home favourite Sergio Perez in fifth with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri splitting Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in seventh.
Alfa Romeo enjoyed a good day with Valtteri Bottas taking ninth and Zhou Guanyu in tenth.
An impressive Alex Albon missed out on a spot in the top ten for Williams as his time was deleted for track limits dropping him to fourteenth as Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Hass’ Nico Hulkenberg and Aston Martin’ Fernando Alonso ahead.
Yuki Tsunoda qualified fifteenth but the AlphaTauri driver will start at the back due to multiple power unit and gearbox parts being changed.
It was a disappointing first session exit for Esteban Ocon in sixteenth for Alpine with McLaren’s Lando Norris hoping for some drama in the Grand Prix as he qualified in nineteenth.
Kevin Magnussen’ Haas took seventeenth and Lance Stroll’s questionable qualifying performance continued with eighteenth for Aston Martin with Logan Sargeant’s Williams last.
The Mexican Grand Prix race starts at 8 pm (20:00) GMT on Sunday, October 29.
Mexico Grand Prix Qualifying
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri)
- Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Vallteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
- Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Alex Albon (Williams)
- Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
- Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
- Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Logan Sargeant (Williams)
THE HERDWICK NEWS 