2 weeks Ago By Scott Hunt
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz has claimed pole position for the Mexico Grand Prix as Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen edged out title rival Lando Norris and Australia’s Oscar Piastri rued a “poor mistake”. Norris trails Verstappen by 57 points in the drivers’ championship with five races remaining and 146 points up for grabs and needs to start making major inroads into the Dutchman’s advantage. Those hopes suffered a further blow on Saturday as Norris could only finish third in qualifying for Sunday’s 71-lap race, a place behind his title rival and over three-tenths off the pace of pole-sitter Sainz.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today And Norris will not have support from teammate Piastri after the Australian suffered a dramatic dip in form — being knocked out in the first part of qualifying having been fastest in final practice just hours earlier. In a blow to McLaren’s constructors’ title bid, Piastri qualified only 17th and was joined in a Q1 elimination by Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez. McLaren lead Red Bull by 40 points, with Ferrari only a further eight points adrift.
“It’s a tricky circuit but I don’t think today was down to it being tricky, I just made a very poor mistake and that was it,” said Piastri. Norris topped the first two sessions of qualifying but had no answer to the blistering lap of the Spaniard, with Sainz’s Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc taking fourth on the grid. Sainz won the Australian Grand Prix earlier this year, but his last pole had been at the Singapore GP in September 2023.
“I did two great laps in Q3 and they were enough for pole, which was great as normally in Mexico it is tricky. Definitely we have done a step up, it seems like we are going in the right direction and looking forward to finishing the job tomorrow,” Sainz said. Norris said: “I am happy with third.
Carlos and Max did good laps. “There are question marks (over race pace) for all of us. Ferrari have been very strong in race pace over the last couple of races.
It is going to be tough, but we are in a good position so looking forward to it.” Verstappen has won five of the last six Grands Prix in Mexico and is bidding for a fourth win in a row at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday. The Red Bull driver endured a difficult run-up to qualifying, suffering from engine issues which limited his running on Friday before complaining of a lack of grip in final practice.
But the Dutchman will be delighted to have pulled it together for qualifying and will hope to keep Norris at bay on the lengthy 768-metre blast down to turn one. Verstappen added: “We were playing catch-up so I was under a lot of pressure to have a good qualifying. “Very happy to be on the front row.
I honestly did not think that was possible.” George Russell will line up fifth for Mercedes, a place clear of team-mate Lewis Hamilton..
