Ricciardo seizes pole in Mexico with mega lap, leads Red Bull front row lockout pipping Verstappen in P2; Hamilton P3 ahead of Vettel in P4
Just when it seemed that Max Verstappen would earn his first ever Formula 1 pole in Saturday qualifying from Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, the talented wunderkind saw that elusive goal snatched from him by his Red Bull teammate. Daniel Ricciardo bested Verstappen’s seemingly untouchable sub 1:15-second fast lap by 3-one hundredths, leaving the Aussie giddy with a new track record and the 21-year-old Dutchman suddenly deflated. After looking the fastest man up until that the very last moments of Q3 Vertsapen was also looking to become the youngest pole-sitter in the sport’s history. But that dream will have to wait at least a couple of more weeks. Despite Verstappen’s disappointment, Red Bull were thrilled to have the front row lockout at a track that really seems to suit their chassis and Ricciardo was especially elated. They may have issues holding those high flying positions in the race, however, because the Red Bulls’ straight line speed is still not nearly as good as Mercedes’ or Ferrari’s, not to mention the doubt added by Ricciardo’s recent string of DNFs due to poor reliability.
Speaking of Mercedes, their ace and points leader took another step towards clinching his fifth World Championship, taking the checkered flag just behind the two Red Bulls and in front of his last remaining title rival, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton will line up P3 on the grid right beside Vettel in P4 and if he scores a mere 5 points in the race he will mathematically eliminate his German rival and claim the 2018 Championship. That makes their respective getaways tomorrow all the more intriguing, especially considering Vettel’s recent propensity for crashing into his nearest opponents. Hamilton’s teammate, Valtteri Bottas, had the fifth fastest time, while Vettel’s stablemate and last week’s race winner in Texas, Kimi Raikkonen, could do no better than P6.
Further down the order, Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz qualified P7 and P8 respectively, while the two Saubers both made it into Q3 for the first time since Russia. Charles Leclerc set the ninth fastest time while Marcus Ericsson will start in P10.
Top 10 qualifiers for the Mexican GP:
| POS | DRIVER | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:15.866 | 1:15.845 | 1:14.759 | |
| 2 | 1:15.756 | 1:15.640 | 1:14.785 | |
| 3 | 1:15.673 | 1:15.644 | 1:14.894 | |
| 4 | 1:16.089 | 1:15.715 | 1:14.970 | |
| 5 | 1:15.580 | 1:15.923 | 1:15.160 | |
| 6 | 1:16.446 | 1:15.996 | 1:15.330 | |
| 7 | 1:16.498 | 1:16.126 | 1:15.827 | |
| 8 | 1:16.813 | 1:16.188 | 1:16.084 | |
| 9 | 1:16.862 | 1:16.320 | 1:16.189 | |
| 10 | 1:16.701 | 1:16.633 | 1:16.513 |
Complete qualifying results available via Formula.com.
Tomorrow’s race airs live at 2:30PM Eastern on ABC in here in the States. With so much on the line and so much speed amongst the front runners, the dice among the top 6 on the opening lap should be epic. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!