Mexican GP: Carlos Sainz sets stunning lap to take pole in Mexico

Carlos Sainz was a class above as he set an incredible lap to secure his first pole position of the season.

The Spaniard went quickest not once but twice as he guided his Ferrari to a time of 1:15.946, 0.225 seconds faster than his nearest rival Max Verstappen.

Carlos Sainz tops the times in Mexican GP quali session

In the early Q3 contest, Verstappen set the tone of a time of 1:16.368 but it was soon deleted due to the Dutchman going wide at Turn 2.

Ultimately though, it made little difference with Sainz setting a couple of stunning laps to first take pole and then improve his advantage.

Behind Sainz, Verstappen recovered from his earlier error to secure P2 while Lando Norris will start from third.

Charles Leclerc made a minor but costly error in his flying lap meaning he was unable to match the feats of his team-mates and will start Sunday’s race in fifth.

The duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will start P5 and P6 respectively while Kevin Magnussen impressed again to secure seventh.

Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top 10.

Earlier, Sergio Perez’s Q1 exit was not all too shocking given his self-confessed “terrible” year but the elimination of Oscar Piastri was more unexpected with the Australian simply not able to find lap time despite two final flying laps.

For Perez, it was a timid approach in the stadium section that was his undoing and his departure was met with groans from his home crowd.

There was appointment for another Red Bull driver in the form of Yuki Tsunoda whose late crash brought out the red flag and an end to Q2.

The Japanese driver locked up on the approach to the stadium section, causing his rear end to swing round as he tried to make the corner. Tsunoda crashed into the barrier in a collision that delayed the start of Q3 as the marshals repaired the track damage.

Mexican Grand Prix 2024: Qualifying results

1 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:15.946

2 Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.225

3 Lando Norris McLaren +0.314

4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.319

5 George Russell Mercedes +0.410

6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.705

7 Kevin Magnussen Haas +0.940

8 Pierre Gasly Alpine +0.946

9 Alexander Albon Williams +1.119

10 Nico Hulkenberg Haas +1.419

11 Yuki Tsunoda VCARB +0.828

12 Liam Lawson VCARB +0.861

13 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.867

14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +0.993

15 Valtteri Bottas Sauber +1.516

16 Franco Colapinto Williams +1.053

17 Oscar Piastri McLaren +1.092

18 Sergio Perez Red Bull +1.106

19 Esteban Ocon Alpine +1.112

20 Zhou Guanyu Sauber +1.567

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