Charles Leclerc has topped teammate Carlos Sainz in this morning’s qualifying for a Ferrari front-row lockout in tomorrow’s Mexican Grand Prix.
Less than one-tenth of a second separated the top three in Q3, with Sainz falling 0.067 seconds shy of pole and Max Verstappen a further 0.03 seconds behind in third.
AlphaTauri’s Daniel Ricciardo secured a strong result and will start from fourth on the grid, topping the likes of Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri and George Russell, respectively.
Alfa Romeo also enjoyed a strong outing, with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu qualifying for Q3, where they went ninth and tenth fastest, respectively.
The grid may be set for a big shakeup, with several incidents to be reviewed post-session, one of which includes Verstappen.
The three-time world champion allegedly impeded competitors during Q1 as he exited the pit lane. Russell and Hamilton are also under investigation for the same offence, while the latter is also being reviewed for potentially speeding under yellow flags.
Verstappen was immediately on the front foot in Q1, topping the session.
Fernando Alonso found himself in trouble with a spin at Turn 3 late in the session, which brought out a yellow flag as Esteban Ocon, Kevin Magnussen, Lance Stroll, and Lando Norris started their flying laps, ultimately seeing all four eliminated from qualifying.
The latter was a big casualty of the session, failing to improve on his earlier time, which sees the McLaren confined to the back of the grid, only ahead of Logan Sargeant, who had two times deleted for track limit violations. The American is also under investigation for speeding under yellows during Alonso’s spin and passing Yuki Tsunoda at the same point.
Verstappen’s investigation comes from backing up the pit lane as he ventured out for his final run, the same offence Russell is said to have committed immediately after.
Tsunoda, who starts from the back of the grid for a new engine, was used in Q2 to assist his teammate with a tow, and it proved a move that worked to secure Ricciardo’s progression. Tsunoda would not set a time to qualify 15th before his grid penalty is applied.
The AlphaTauri driver also hit a Williams’ jack left in the pit lane, producing yet another incident under investigation.
Alex Albon, who has impressed across all three practices, appeared to secure safety to Q3 but lost his time for a track limits infringement, confining him to 14th.
Also eliminated in Q2 were Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly.
A drop in track temperature in Q3 saw few improvements over the final runs as the chequered flag flew, with Leclerc’s earlier 1:17.166 enough to claim pole over his teammate.
Tomorrow morning’s Mexican Grand Prix begins at 9.00 am.
Header Image: Scuderia Ferrari
