F1 Mexico GP: Sainz dominates qualifying for pole as Verstappen beats Norris

Carlos Sainz scorched to pole for the Mexico Grand Prix with a 0.225-second advantage over Formula 1 championship leader Max Verstappen.

Sainz was in imperious form throughout the session and found two times good enough for pole - opening his Q3 run with a 1m16.055s and improving on his final run to a 1m15.946s to line up at the front of Sunday's grid.

Verstappen rescued a front-row start after losing his first Q3 lap to track limits having cut both parts of the Turn 2/3 chicane and set a 1m16.171s on his final attempt to qualify ahead of championship rival Lando Norris.

Norris' first lap was comparatively poor and was only fifth at the end of the opening runs, but found improvement on his final tour to head the second row alongside Charles Leclerc.

The Monegasque saved a snap through the high-speed corners and managed to collect fourth, albeit three-tenths down on his team-mate.

The two Mercedes drivers occupied the third row, as George Russell outqualified Lewis Hamilton as the younger Briton improved more on the final tour. They were ahead of an impressive Kevin Magnussen, who parked his car seventh on the grid over Pierre Gasly.

Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg were ninth and 10th, the German having overcooked it on the exit of Turn 12 on his last lap to lose a chance at moving further up the grid.

Marshals remove the damaged car of Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01, from a barrier after a crash at the end of Q2 (Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images)

Yuki Tsunoda was the master of his own Q2 elimination after putting his RB in the wall ahead of the Foro Sol section while on a flying lap, causing a red flag with a crash at Turn 12.

This also denied his team-mate Liam Lawson the chance to progress, as the two looked set to improve and challenge Gasly's 10th-fastest lap.

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were both starting their final flying laps before the session was stopped and were subsequently eliminated, while Valtteri Bottas was also denied the chance to break out of Q2 in the wake of the incident.

Oscar Piastri and Sergio Perez were the big scalps taken in Q1; the Australian failed to reclaim his FP3-topping form and also failed to progress into the second phase of qualifying - making his life more difficult by losing a lap for track limits. He reckoned that, had he not gone beyond the Turn 12 kerb and lost a second in the process, he would have made it through.

Perez was dumped out at the first hurdle of qualifying for his home grand prix having struggled with braking in the low-speed corners throughout the session. The Mexican only got up to 15th on his final lap of the opening stage but was shuffled down the order by Charles Leclerc's escape from the drop zone.

Esteban Ocon and Zhou Guanyu propped up the order, as Ocon's late effort to overturn the on-the-cusp Lance Stroll crumbled in the final sector.

Mexico Grand Prix - Qualifying results

Main Information Additional Data Driver Info

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Main Information Additional Data 1  -  2
Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Time	km/h
1	C. Sainz Ferrari	55		Ferrari	Ferrari	1'15.946	204.018
2	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1		Red Bull	Red Bull	+0.225 1'16.171	203.415
3	L. Norris McLaren	4		McLaren	Mercedes	+0.314 1'16.260	203.178
4	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.319 1'16.265	203.165
5	G. Russell Mercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	+0.410 1'16.356	202.923
6	L. Hamilton Mercedes	44		Mercedes	Mercedes	+0.705 1'16.651	202.142
7	K. Magnussen Haas F1 Team	20		Haas	Ferrari	+0.940 1'16.886	201.524
8	P. Gasly Alpine	10		Alpine	Renault	+0.946 1'16.892	201.508
9	A. Albon Williams	23		Williams	Mercedes	+1.119 1'17.065	201.056
10	N. Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team	27		Haas	Ferrari	+1.419 1'17.365	200.276
11	Y. Tsunoda RB	22		RB	Red Bull	+1.183 1'17.129	200.889
12	L. Lawson RB	30		RB	Red Bull	+1.216 1'17.162	200.803
13	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Mercedes	+1.222 1'17.168	200.787
14	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Mercedes	+1.348 1'17.294	200.460
15	V. Bottas Sauber	77		Sauber	Ferrari	+1.871 1'17.817	199.113
16	F. Colapinto Williams	43		Williams	Mercedes	+1.612 1'17.558	199.778
17	O. Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	+1.651 1'17.597	199.677
18	S. Perez Red Bull Racing	11		Red Bull	Red Bull	+1.665 1'17.611	199.641
19	E. Ocon Alpine	31		Alpine	Renault	+1.671 1'17.617	199.626
20	Z. Guanyu Sauber	24		Sauber	Ferrari	+2.126 1'18.072	198.462
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