Sainz super happy, Leclerc blames his driving style for lack of one-lap pace

On the back of their sensational double victory in Texas, Ferrari displayed another impressive performance in yesterday’s qualifying session at the Mexico City Grand Prix, with Carlos Sainz dominating the all-important closing stages of Q3 to take his first pole position of the season.

It was not surprising to see many drivers struggle to get to grips with the tricky track as the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez poses a unique set of challenges due its its altitude.

While McLaren’s Lando Norris excelled in the opening stages of qualifying, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz caused a surprise in Q3, displaying impressive speed in the all-important last qualifying segment. The Spaniard completed two flying runs in Q3 and both of them would have been good enough to grab pole.

Sainz started from pole for the last time back in Singapore in 2023 which means that his achievement in yesterday’s qualifying was his first pole position this year.

Commenting on his qualifying session, Sainz said: “I’m super happy today! I couldn’t imagine a better qualifying here in Mexico. We have done a great job balancing the car and I enjoyed very much the last two laps of Q3, pushing in every corner and keeping it as clean as possible. I feel we have improved our tyre understanding and preparation and this helps to consistently drive to the limit.

“We are the only team with both cars on the front two rows of the grid so the main priority for the race will be to score the maximum haul of points for the Constructors’ Championship.

“Even though it’s not easy at this track, I will do everything to defend pole at the start and we will give all we’ve got to bring home another win!”

His team-mate Charles Leclerc missed the opening practice session on Friday before losing further valuable track time in FP2 due to a long red flag period brought out by Mercedes driver George Russell. It meant that the Monegasque tried out Pirelli’s soft tyres in the final practice for the first time this weekend.

Reflecting on his qualifying session, the eight-time grand prix winner has conceded that he was struggling on the low-grip asphalt, but he pins hopes on his race pace.

“I didn’t have the feeling I wanted in the car, neither in FP3 nor in qualifying, and P4 was the best I could do today. With my driving style, I struggle a bit more on low grip tracks such as this one, but I’m confident that with the race pace I had yesterday, I can push in tomorrow’s race.

“I will need a really good start to challenge for the win, and starting from P4 will not make that easy, but I will give it my all,” concluded Leclerc.