28 October 2023 , 22:01
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Charles Leclerc took pole for the Mexican Grand Prix as Ferrari stunned Max Verstappen – who is under investigation along with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell and could face a grid penalty.
The Dutchman is accused of impeding his rivals by stopping at the end of the pit lane during Q1, forcing others to remain stationary in the pit lane. George Russell is also being probed for the same offence, while Hamilton will also have to argue his case having been accused of failing to slow under yellow flags.
But Leclerc didn't need any penalties for his rivals to beat them both to pole with a monster first lap in Q3. And Carlos Sainz made things even sweeter for Ferrari by going second quickest to secure the front-row lockout.
Verstappen was third quickest but will need to convince the stewards not to give him a penalty to keep hold of it. Daniel Ricciardo pulled off a brilliant lap to go fourth quickest and upstage home hero Sergio Perez, who was slower than both the Aussie and Hamilton.
Q1 was marred by several drivers parked at the pit lane exit trying to head out on track at the optimum time for their last flying laps. But several waited for too long and were noted by race control for impeding their rivals, including Verstappen and Russell who will be investigated after the session.
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Norris was the big casualty of that session as McLaren took the risk of sending him out on medium tyres to save a set of softs for later, but his last two flying laps were both aborted and he was condemned to just 18th on the grid – only Logan Sargeant was slower as he failed to set a time, while Yuki Tsunoda will start from the back having taken a penalty for new engine components.
Lance Stroll, Kevin Magnussen and Esteban Ocon were the others to go out in the first part of the session. They did not have the chance to complete a full final flying lap due to yellow flags in the first sector, brought out by Fernando Alonso as he span around, but the Spaniard was already safely through.
It might have saved Alex Albon, who looked mightily fast in practice but was complaining about how his Williams felt at the start of qualifying. He made it through to Q2 and looked to have progressed to the final part of the session as well, but had his lap that was quick enough for ninth place deleted for a track limits violation which he did not agree with.
Zhou Guanyu was the man who benefitted as both Alfa Romeos found themselves in Q3. Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg, Alonso and Yuki Tsunoda were not so lucky as they failed to qualify in the top 10.
In the first runs for pole, Verstappen made a mistake at turn eight which opened the door for his rivals. And both Ferraris took full advantage as first Sainz and then Leclerc went faster than the Red Bull racer, threatening a front-row lockout for the Italian team.
And that's exactly what they pulled off as few drivers improved on their second runs and none of them threatened the Ferrari pair. Verstappen, Hamilton and Russell will hope to hold on to the results they secured when they plead their respective cases to the stewards.