George Russell was left to rue his "terrible" final qualifying lap as Max Verstappen snatched pole position for the Mexican Grand Prix.
Given his dominance this season, Verstappen is far from a surprise pole-sitter. But what has been a bit of a shock this weekend is the pace of the Mercedes cars, with both Russell and Lewis Hamilton looking mightily quick in Mexico City.
Their strong times from practice carried over into qualifying, and British fans allowed themselves to get excited at the prospect of one of them being on pole for the first time all year. But it wasn't to be, and both were visibly gutted as they reacted to the session.
"The team deserve more today – they've produced a really great car this weekend and I think its testament to the hard work they have been doing for so long. We saw last weekend with Lewis what the car was capable of and this weekend... it felt like it was our pole to have.
"It was just a terrible lap from my side, so I'm kicking myself." But he ended on a more optimistic note, adding: "At the end of the day, there are no points for qualifying and I'm excited to be back on the front row.
Perhaps that positivity comes from knowing that pole position doesn't necessarily mean anything at this venue. The last four pole-sitters in Mexico City have failed to even finish on the podium – something for Verstappen to be wary of on Sunday.
Another man hoping to take advantage of that trend is Hamilton, who will start just behind Russell in third. He too paid tribute to his team while also expressing a twinge of regret that he couldn't achieve a little more.
"Unfortunately the first lap, which I think was quick enough for second, wasn't quite good enough," the Brit said. "Naturally the Red Bulls are so fast. But I think this is such an amazing show and I'm really proud of my team – this is the best qualifying we've had all year.
"It just shows that perseverance and never giving up is the way forward, so big thanks to everybody here and back at the factory. My laps have been pretty good... I'm pretty happy with that position to start with – it's a long run down to turn one."
