Teams and drivers gave their views on a Saturday that put Lewis Hamilton on pole and left McLaren searching for answers.
Formula 1 teams and drivers reviewed Saturday's qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton took Ferrari's pole, George Russell was 0.009s behind for Mercedes, and McLaren's Oscar Piastri went out in Q2 for the first time this season.
Lewis Hamilton took his first pole for Ferrari in Mexico City, and the teams have now given their reading of a close qualifying session. Formula 1 said he is the oldest polesitter since Mario Andretti in 1982.
Ferrari: pole and a clean side of the grid
Hamilton said the weekend had not been straightforward, with missed running and an issue on Friday, but that everything came together when it mattered. Charles Leclerc finished third after a scrappy final run in Q3, saying he could not put the tyres in the right window. The team said both cars start on the clean side, and that the run down to Turn 1 and the slipstream could play a big role.
Mercedes: front row, but a mixed picture
Russell made the front row with a late lap that was just 0.009s off pole. He said his quickest lap came without a preparation lap, while the team tried a different approach with Kimi Antonelli, who was fifth on the road. With Max Verstappen's penalty applied, Antonelli starts fourth. Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin said brake and power unit temperatures are likely to be key factors in the race.
McLaren: inconsistency from one run to the next
Piastri was knocked out in Q2 after running used tyres first. He said the car's behaviour changed completely once new tyres went on, after only minor set-up tweaks. Lando Norris, who topped Q2, said the car was not consistent enough to repeat that lap in Q3 and starts sixth. McLaren said the MCL40 can become unpredictable when pushed to its limit in windy conditions.
Red Bull, Racing Bulls and Alpine
Verstappen qualified fourth but starts fifth after his grid penalty. Red Bull said he was fastest on track until he met traffic from Norris in the last sector. Isack Hadjar starts seventh after a lock-up on his last attempt. Racing Bulls put both cars in Q3, but Lawson was later disqualified for a technical breach involving his car's MGU-K deployment. Pierre Gasly reached Q3 for Alpine and Franco Colapinto took 12th, and both inherit a place.
What we know so far
- Pole: Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
- Second and third: George Russell, Charles Leclerc
- Lawson was disqualified from qualifying
- Piastri was eliminated in Q2
