Max Verstappen wins third consecutive Formula One world championship
Mexican Grand Prix qualifying threw up surprises aplenty on Saturday evening, with Max Verstappen forced to settle for P3 and the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz leading the way. Daniel Ricciardo, meanwhile, clinched a surprise fourth place for AlphaTauri on only his second outing since returning from injury.
Sergio Perez could only manage fifth in front of his adoring home fans, with Mercedes and McLaren both enduring a tough day as neither of the team’s drivers broke into the top five.
Sunday’s race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is sure to be an entertaining one, with plenty left to fight for in the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships. It could also be a big one for Lando Norris, who will have to fight his way through the pack after a qualifying mishap left him 18th on the grid.
With all this to delve into and more, follow Express Sport‘s live F1 updates below…
Don’t miss… Verstappen and Hamilton under Mexican GP qualifying investigation
Horner fires warning to Ferrari
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has warned Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz that they may not be in as good a position as they think after their front-row lockout in Mexico.
Max Verstappen will be primed and raring to go behind the Ferrari pair, having qualified in third.
“We are looking forward to Sunday, we have a good race car and as long as they stay out of trouble on that first lap we should be set up well,” said Horner.
“Arguably starting in the front is not where you really want to be on this track with that huge run down to Turn 1. It will be interesting to see if there is some formation driving by Ferrari, but it’s a pretty wide track and it will make a really exciting race.”
Norris shows true colours
Lando Norris showed his true colours by shouldering the blame himself after a dismal qualifying in Mexico.
The Brit failed to make it into Q2 after Fernando Alonso’s spin prompted yellow flags on his final push lap, but he would have already had a time on the board if he did not abort a previous attempt.
“Something obviously wasn’t right, but that wasn’t a problem,” said Norris. “I just made some mistakes on my one lap that I had. Obviously there was a yellow in the end from Fernando.
“That one opportunity, that one lap that I was given, I didn’t put it together. It went off and that was it. We turned around and went straight back out. We will speak about it after, but I had one lap and I didn’t do it. So it is on me.”
Verstappen puzzled by investigation
Max Verstappen was left perplexed by the FIA’s investigation into him blocking the pit-lane in Mexican Grand Prix qualifying, which ultimately saw him go unpunished.
“Honestly, I just do what everyone else is doing around me,” he told Sky Sports. “I don’t really get it. It’s the only place where you can make a bit of a gap, so I don’t really understand.”
Verstappen ended up qualifying in third, and he has not put too much pressure on catching the Ferraris on Lap 1, insisting that the race will be a marathon, not a sprint.
Hamilton faces nightmare scenario
Lewis Hamilton will have to fight his way up from sixth on the grid in less than favourable circumstances, with the Brit admitting that his Mercedes is a ‘nightmare’ to drive around the Mexican Grand Prix circuit.
“I have been struggling all weekend with this car,” Hamilton told Sky Sports. “The car has been a bit of a nightmare to drive. It just doesn’t like this track.
“We made some good changes going into qualifying. I was much happier with the car. I wish we had done it in the morning.”
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