Verstappen ‘surprised’ by front row start in Mexico after setbacks

Max Verstappen admitted that he didn’t expect to secure a spot on the front row of the grid for the Mexico City Grand Prix given the tumultuous start to his weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Carlos Sainz was out of reach in Saturday’s top-ten shootout, with Verstappen concluding Q3 over two tenths behind the Ferrari driver but just ahead of championship rival Lando Norris.

The Red Bull charger had faced setbacks during the Friday practice sessions when a recurring power unit issue limited his time on track.

The reigning champion’s reliability woes left him unable to set a single timed lap in the second session, forcing him to play “catch up” in Saturday’s final practice.

“Naturally yesterday I barely did any laps,” he explained. “So we were playing a lot of catch-up. FP3 was not very good. So I was already, I think, under a lot of pressure to have a good qualifying.”

However, the Dutchman found pace when it mattered, although his first flyer in Q3 added another layer of tension after his lap time was deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 2.

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With the clock ticking down, he had to keep his composure and deliver in his final run, managing to do so successfully and edging out closest rival Lando Norris to secure the second-fastest time.

“Of course my lap time got taken away, so that added a little bit more pressure,” he said. “But very happy to be on the front row. I honestly didn’t expect that to be possible.

“I think it’s probably one of the hardest tracks to get right,” he added. “Street circuits are difficult and this one as well.

“Because it’s low downforce, it’s very easy to have a lock up or a slide and then the tyres overheat immediately. So it’s one of the tricky ones on the calendar.”

Verstappen’s power unit woes were solved by Red Bull replacing his unit ahead of FP3. While it was a penalty-free change due to the team bolting on used hardware, the Dutchman says a grid penalty is looming, perhaps as soon as next weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

"I think there will be another penalty, yes,” he said, referring to the grid drop that forced upon him at Spa after an engine change.

“We'll have to see how long we can last [with the current pool]."

Regarding his prospects for Sunday’s race, the three-time world champion sttered clear of making any bold projections.

"I don't expect miracles," said Verstappen. "In Austin, Ferrari was really fast. Of course, McLaren was not as strong, but then in the race, they were still competitive.

“So from my side, I don't know. I guess we'll find out."

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