2023-10-28 22:40:14
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc surprisingly secured pole position in qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix. The Monegasque driver set the fastest time on Saturday at the atmospheric Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City ahead of his Spanish teammate Carlos Sainz (+0.067 seconds). Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen (+0.097) had to be content with third place on the grid in the Red Bull for the 19th race of the season on Sunday (9 p.m./ORF 1 and Sky).
“What a surprise. I never would have thought that, everything worked out. And I haven’t converted so many poles into a race win yet,” said Leclerc following his 22nd career pole and the fourth this season. “That’s strange, really. I don’t know where we found almost a second,” added Sainz, referring to the training performance. Local hero Sergio Perez starts from fifth place in the second Red Bull, one position behind surprise man Daniel Ricciardo in the AlphaTauri.
“This is a real sign of life from him, a very strong comeback following his hand injury,” said Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko on ORF regarding the 34-year-old Australian, who is aiming for a place in the RB cockpit once more in the future. Triple champion Verstappen, who had previously set the best time in all three training sessions and would like to improve his own record from last year with his 16th win of the season on Sunday, was not entirely satisfied. “I didn’t get everything together 100 percent. But it’s a long race and I have a slipstream until the first corner,” said the 26-year-old, who had already secured his third title in a row in Qatar.
McLaren driver Lando Norris was disappointed and had to settle for 19th place on the grid. “It’s a shame, I messed up my lap,” said the recently convincing Brit. Veteran Fernando Alonso caused some excitement in Q1, turning his Aston Martin on the last lap and thus preventing the fast attempts of many of his competitors. Even Alexander Albon in the Williams, who was very quick in training, didn’t get past 14th on the grid.
“According to our calculations, Albon and Norris were actually our strongest opponents. There are a lot of different reactions at this altitude, which is interesting,” said Marko. “I still think we’ll look better in the race and Ferrari can’t go at this speed.” For Perez, the home race is primarily regarding securing second place in the World Championship behind Verstappen. The Mexican’s lead over Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who will start the race from sixth place, is 39 points four races and one sprint before the end of the season.
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