Stroll’s crash and an unexpected winner. How did qualifying for the Mexican GP go?

Traditionally very interesting was another qualification for this season’s race. Hermanos Rodriguez’s Mexican circuit saw Valtteri Bottas take victory, once again taking pole position from Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes once again showed the Formula One world that even from the position of an underdog, they can perform well.

The first part of qualifying began with minor complications for Red Bull as the team’s mechanics worked on the rear wings of both their drivers. But then it was a struggle, right up until 10:58 to go, when Lance Stroll collided hard with the barrier at the end of the circuit, interrupting Q1. Fortunately, the Canadian climbed out of the car and after what was ultimately a fairly long break, the drivers were able to continue.

The opening qualifying session was eventually won by Valtteri Bottas ahead of Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. However, we have to take into account that Dutchman Verstappen didn’t make his second attempt in Q1. Alonso (16th), Latifi, Schumacher, Mazepin and Stroll didn’t make it through to the middle session.

Q2 could be summed up as a battle on yellow tyres and the intruder Cunoda. The Japanese started on the red kit and despite starting the race from the back of the field for a component change. Ocon, Norris and Lance Stroll are in the same position.

Mercedes also won the second qualifying session, this time driven by Lewis Hamilton. But second-placed Verstappen was only nine thousandths behind. The final battle for pole position in Mexico was not contested by the five of Ocon (15th), Giovinazzi, Russell, Räikkönen and Vettel.

The third part of qualifying caused many a spectator’s jaw to drop as the Mercedes cars knocked more than half a second off their Q2 times. Before the final attempts, the provisional line-up of the first two rows was Bottas, Hamilton, Verstappen, Pérez.

The last attempt was affected by a mistake by one of the Alpha Tauri drivers which affected both Red Bull drivers, so when Hamilton failed to accelerate in sector three, the order of the first two rows remained the same. The pairing of Bottas and Hamilton would stand on the front row and captivate the formula world once again.

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