Charles Leclerc led Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz to a 1-2 result during Saturday’s (Oct. 28) qualifying for the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix. The pole is the 22nd of Leclerc’s career.
Max Verstappen qualified in third place ahead of the AlphaTauri of Daniel Ricciardo and hometown hero Sergio Perez.
“To be honest, I did not expect to be on pole position today,” Leclerc told Sky Sports’ James Hinchcliffe after the session. “We thought we were lacking quite a bit after [practice]. But for some reason, once we put everything together it went well; with the new tires we gained a lot. But I’m already focusing on tomorrow’s race … we need to convert it into a win tomorrow and, of course, it’s going to be very difficult.”
Q3
The third session of qualifying was decisively controlled by the Ferrari duo of Leclerc and Sainz. The Scuderia set their best times early in the session and benefited from a shift in track conditions which kept the rest of the field from finding more pace as the session carried on. No lap times were eliminated and no on-track incidents occurred.
Pos. | Car # | Driver | Team | Time from Leader |
1. | 16 | Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:17.166 |
2. | 55 | Sainz | Ferrari | +0.067 |
3. | 33 | Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | +0.097 |
4. | 3 | Ricciardo | AlphaTauri Honda RBPT | +0.216 |
5. | 11 | Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | +0.257 |
6. | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.288 |
7. | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | +0.457 |
8. | 63 | George Russell | Merceds | +0.508 |
9. | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo Ferrari | +0.866 |
10. | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo Ferrari | +0.884 |
Q2
Alex Albon, who looked to have put in a scorching lap for Williams, securing the team a spot in Q3, had his fastest lap time deleted after the conclusion of Q2, promoting Zhou to 10th and a transfer to Q3 while Albon was relegated to a 14th-place start for Sunday’s race.
Yuki Tsunoda did not set a flying lap time during Q2, meaning he was eliminated and will start in 15th place on Sunday. He did, however, provide a draft to his teammate Ricciardo, who advanced to Q3. The Japanese driver also had less than pleasant encounter with a Williams jack on his way out of the garage.
Pos. | Car # | Driver | Team | Time from Advancing |
11. | 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri Honda RBPT | +0.081 |
12. | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | +0.084 |
13. | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco | +0.298 |
14. | 23 | Albon | Williams Mercedes | +0.707 |
15. | 22 | Tsunoda | AlphaTauri Honda RBPT | N/A |
Q1
Alonso triggered a game-changing yellow flag toward the end of the first qualifying session with an uncharacteristic error in one of the track’s slowest sections. The resulting yellow interrupted flying laps for several drivers.
Verstappen was noted for the offense of impeding after parking his RB19 at the exit of pit lane with a gaggle of cars waiting to take to the track behind him. The Dutchman will be investigated after the session.
Logan Sargeant had his lap time deleted due to a track limits violation, dropping him from his initial result of 19th down to 20th.
Pos. | Car # | Driver | Team | Time from Advancing |
16. | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | +0.064 |
17. | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | +0.147 |
18. | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | +0.211 |
19. | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | +2.538 |
20. | 2 | Sargeant | Williams Mercedes | N/A |
2023 F1 Mexico City Grand Prix Qualifying Results
The Mexico City Grand Prix will go green on Sunday, Oct. 29, at 4 p.m. ET, with coverage on ESPN.
Alex is the IndyCar Content Director at Frontstretch, having initially joined as an entry-level contributor in 2021. He also serves as Managing Director of The Asia Cable, a publication focused on the international affairs and politics of the Asia-Pacific region which he co-founded in 2023. With previous experience in China, Japan and Poland, Alex is particularly passionate about the international realm of motorsport and the politics that make the wheels turn - literally - behind the scenes.