Charles Leclerc will start tomorrow's Mexican Grand Prix from pole position, with Carlos Sainz completing a Ferrari front row lock-out in qualifying in Mexico City leaving Max Verstappen in P3.
The surprise of the session was AlphaTauri's Daniel Ricciardo clinching fourth on the grid ahead of Sergio Perez, with Lewis Hamilton only able to claim P6 from Oscar Piastri and George Russell.
A spin for Fernando Alonso at the end of Q1 triggered yellow flags affecting several drivers, with Lando Norris a conspicuous casualty as the McLaren ended up P19 after failing to complete a fully representative time.
Earlier on Saturday, Red Bull's Max Verstappen had topped final practice to complete his clean sweep of the weekend so far. However the return of the in-form Alex Albon to P2 in the Williams underlined just how much in flux the rest of the grid was. At least half a dozen drivers from Albon to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) to Lewis Hamilton and George Russell (Mercedes) were all very much in contention for a front row spot heading into qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix. Not to mention local hero Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull and wild cards Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) and Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri) loitering hopefully on the fringes.
Q1: Verstappen beats Piastri as Norris misses out on amid Alonso yellow flag
First to get qualifying underway in the sparkling sunshine was Kevin Magnussen in the Haas, followed after a short pause by Alpine's Pierre Gasly and then by Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso. It was Alonso who won that initial four-way skirmish on 1:19.604s, by which time more cars were issuing from pit lane.
Perez was soon on top, a full second quicker, but he was just a placeholder for team mate Verstappen who emphatically moved the goalposts to 1:18.099s. They were all on softs, while the two Mercedes cars were starting the session on mediums with Hamilton going P3 and Russell P5 behind Yuki Tsunoda, who was already doomed to a back row start tomorrow due to an engine change grid penalty.
The wild cards delivered, with Bottas popping up to second but promptly bumped by Ricciardo. Leclerc then split them by going third fastest on his maiden run on mediums. However Albon had ended up in the drop zone, and Norris was without a time after aborting his first flying lap. There was plenty to play for as the cars pitted, fitted new tyres and set off for a second charge with everyone now on softs, resulting in severe congestion on pit lane.
Albon and the two McLarens had beaten the rush by going back out early: Piastri leapt out of the drop zone and into second while Albon also found safety in the top ten, but Norris was again forced to back off after a huge slide in turn 8. That cost him dearly when Alonso spun at turn 3 triggering yellow flags meaning drivers couldn't improve their times through that sector. As a consequence, Norris finished 19th with Esteban Ocon also missing the cut along with Magnussen and Stroll. Logan Sargeant's time was deleted for exceeding track limits, leaving the Williams last.
Q2: Hamilton quickest from Verstappen and Russell as Albon denied spot in top ten
Before the start of Q2, a number of drivers were put on notice that they would be investigated for breaches in the first round, including Verstappen for impeding on pit lane; Russell, Norris and Zhou Guanyu for failing to meet the mandated delta time; Hamilton and Sargeant for failing to slow under yellow flags; and Tsunoda and Sargeant (again) for overtaking under yellow flags.
There was no time to do the admin before the second round, so they were filed for later investigation as qualifying resumed with Red Bull sending both cars out on fresh sets of softs. Verstappen punched in a mighty 1:17.625s, half a second quicker than Perez and the quickest time of the weekend so far.
Ricciardo was next up and still on a charge, splitting the Bulls in second until he was pipped in turn by Piastri. Bottas was also in good form, taking fifth ahead of Russell and Hamilton with Sainz and Leclerc in P8 and 9. Zhou was on the bubble in the second Alfa but Alex Albon - the star of FP3 - was faltering just outside the top ten and in danger of missing the cut, suspecting possible damage to the FW45 as he tried to find reasons for his sudden loss of form.
Ricciardo found more speed to go ahead of Piastri, and then Russell improved to take second, before his team mate Lewis Hamilton did even better and deposed Verstappen from the top by half a tenth with a time of 1:17.571s. Leclerc found a little more time to go eighth ahead of Bottas and Perez. Albon had improved his time to take ninth - but the lap was deleted for cutting turn 2.
That restored Zhou to the top ten and through to the top ten pole shootout, and left Albon fuming in the garage after he was eliminated along with Gasly, Hulkenberg and Alonso. Also out was Tsunoda who didn't set a time in light of his pending grid penalty, concentrating instead on giving a tow to his team mate Ricciardo.
Q3: Leclerc and Sainz snatch pole position for Mexico GP from Verstappen
The Mexican fans cheered Perez setting the first lap of Q3 with a time of 1:17.788s, but it proved half a second slower once again compared to Verstappen. An impressive Ricciardo then flew to second before Ferrari sprang a surprise from out of nowhere by going P1 and P2 for Leclerc and Sainz respectively. The Mercedes cars of Russell and Hamilton took provisional spots on the third row ahead of Perez and Piastri, with the Alfa pair at the bottom.
The final order was confirmed by one final push: Leclerc, Sainz, Verstappen and Ricciardo could wring no more pace out of their cars, but Piastri dug deep for sixth. Hamilton found enough to move back ahead of the McLaren but Russell was left in eighth ahead of the two Alfas. But crucially, no one had been able to catch the two Ferraris with Leclerc confirmed on pole and Sainz completing a 1-2 lock-out for the Scuderia.
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