29/10/2023 and las 00:10 CEST
Ferrari surprises at the Hermanos Rodríguez and takes the first two positions on the grid for the Mexican GP with Leclerc and Sainz
Verstappen will start third, Norris, last after falling in Q1 and Alonso has once again been left out of the decisive battle for pole in Q3
Featured in 2016, the Mexican Grand Prix offers a splendid and colorful festival in the stands every year, with one of the most enthusiastic and passionate fans on the calendar. At the same time it poses great challenges on the track, conditioned by the altitude of the Autódromo de los Hermanos Rodríguez, the high temperatures and the priority given to the engines over aerodynamics. By many variables that include a grand prize, Max Verstappen is always in all the pools as the great favorite. The three-time champion was in the fight for pole position, heading the ‘poster’, after leading the three free sessions and dominating without ‘mercy’ against his teammate Sergio Pereznational idol, but the pole, finally, went to Ferrari, which took over the front row of the grid with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. A bolt from the blue.
Norris, KO to first
The classification pointed to another pole for Verstappen, the eleventh, but left the battle between Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren more open than ever. Even Albon and his Williams had managed to impress in free practice. Max started at the front in Q1 (1.18.099) but knowing that the rapid improvement of the track was going to make his first attempt nothing. A crash from the McLaren left Norris out at the first opportunity, quite a surprise. The Englishman, who was aiming for his fifth consecutive podium, made his life complicated when he found himself relegated to the back of the grid. Ocon, Magnussen, Stroll and Sargeant also fell. Alonso reached Q2 despite suffering a spectacular spin that prevented him from improving his lap.
The second qualifying round started under ‘threat’ for several drivers, including Alonso, Russell and Verstappen, for blocking the exit of their rivals in the pit lane. The spectacular stands of the ‘Foro Sol’ roared with each lap launched by Checo and fell silent when Max started the ‘crusher’ to beat the Mexican. The Dutchman was ‘flying’, lowering his best time by four tenths (1.17.625), almost half a second behind his teammate.
Aston Martin trembles
Verstappen, with the mission accomplished in Q2, returned to the box and Hamilton took the opportunity to improve his time by 54 thousandths (1.17.575). Sainz struggled to overcome the sieve, with tenth time, and Alonso fell along with Tsunoda, Albon, Gasly and Hülkenberg.
The ‘terror’ of Halloween has definitively settled on Aston Martin, which seems condemned to suffer in this final stretch of the season. If in Austin the luck of those from Silverstone went wrong since Friday, at Hermanos Rodríguez it does not seem that the aerodynamic package introduced a week ago has given the result they expected either.
Alonso arrived in Mexico with a clear mandate: to optimize the improvements to his car (floor, sidepods and diffuser) in the three free sessions that he did not have in the United States, where there was only one practice as it was a grand prix in sprint format. He didn’t make it. After a more than discreet free practice session (20th and last on Friday), Fernando once again found himself out of Q3 this Saturday. In Austin, the Asturian’s streak was broken; after 17 grands prix, he was the only one on the grid who had always reached the decisive round. He now has two eliminations.
Max, under pressure
Leclerc and Sainz gave the ‘bell’ by placing themselves as the two fastest in the first round of the fight for pole, with Verstappen one tenth behind and Ricciardo unleashing ‘madness’ in the Alpha Tauri pit with his fourth place, for in front of the Mercedes, before the last attempt.
The situation put the three-time champion under pressure, forced to risk it in his final return. And he didn’t get better. Leclerc took pole, fourth for him this year, with a time of 1.17.166. followed by his teammate Carlos Sainz, just 67 thousandths behind. And both behind Verstappen, who tomorrow will look for the slipstream at the start to go for his record of 17 victories in a single season. “It was a strange session and I did my best lap of the weekend in Q3, when it counted, and when I least expected it,” confessed Sainz, as amazed as the rest.
2023-10-28 22:14:14
#Leclerc #takes #pole #Mexico
