Verstappen sees off Mercedes Qualifying challenge

Max Verstappen has claimed pole position for the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, seeing off a Mercedes challenge headed by George Russell.

The Dutchman was on provisional pole after his first lap in Qualifying 3, improving to confirm his position at the head of the grid.

A mistake from Russell on his final lap saw him run wide at Turn 12, the Brit left ruing a mistake he felt cost him pole.

Lewis Hamilton will start third, with Sergio Perez alongside him on the second row.

In Qualifying 1, Perez was welcomed on track to an audible roar from the crowd, going on to record a 1:20.408s with his first timed lap.

It left him on provisional pole until Leclerc went almost a second faster, the Ferrari driver mustering a 1:19.505s.

Verstappen abandoned his first lap as he struggled for grip through the opening sequence of corners.

On his second effort, he managed a 1:19.222s with a strong final sector.

Hamilton looked on course to beat that but lost 0.4s through the final third of the lap, his 1:19.527s leaving him third-fastest at the time.

He then fell to fourth when Valtteri Bottas completed his first run with a 1:18.523s.

Perez ventured out for a second run, on the same set of soft tyres he’d used earlier after his opening lap was hampered when his DRS failed to open.

It left him just 10th at the time, and somewhat vulnerable as far as escaping the opening segment of the three-part session was concerned.

However, he improved to post the sixth fastest time, a 1:19.706s, some 0.7s quicker than he’d managed the first time around.

The chequered flag fell with Mick Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel – who set an identical time to Schumacher – Lance Stroll, Alex Albon, and Nicholas Latifi all eliminated.

It took nearly three minutes for the first car to emerge after Qualifying 2 got underway.

Sainz and the two Alpines opted to remain in the garage as the rest of the remaining field ventured out, the Ferrari driver trundling down the lane as Hamilton completed his first timed lap in the session.

That proved to be a 1:18.552s, quickly followed by Russell who recorded a 1:18.565s.

Bottas was again rapid, the Alfa Romeo Sauber driver third-fastest with a 1:18.780s to best Verstappen, who was fourth at half a tenth slower.

Leclerc was fifth best with his first lap in Qualifying 2, the Ferrari driver on a set of used soft tyres. That became sixth when Esteban Ocon managed a 1:19.081s.

With five minutes remaining, Perez headed out on a set of new soft tyres.

He was the only driver on track and rose to third fastest, 0.063s off the pace of Hamilton who held provisional pole.

Verstappen improved to move up to third with a 1:18.566s, which became fourth when Sainz split the Mercedes pair with a 1:18.850s, just 0.008s slower than Hamilton’s best.

Leclerc abandoned his lap when it became apparent he was safe, the five eliminated were Daniel Ricciardo, Guanyu Zhou, Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly, and Kevin Magnussen.

Perez was the first man out on track, followed by Sainz, Ocon, Leclerc, and Lando Norris, as Qualifying 3 began.

The Red Bull driver managed a 1:18.153s, the fastest lap of the session to that point until Verstappen dipped into the 1:17s.

The Dutchman recorded a 1:17.947s to leave himself 0.2s clear of his team-mate.

Hamilton and Russell also went faster than Perez, though the former’s lap was deleted for track limits at Turn 3.

As he had been at the start of the segment, Perez was again first out on track for his final effort.

It ended with a 1:18.128s to improve his time but remain third, his middle sector down on his own previous best.

Leclerc could only manage fifth fastest as Verstappen improved, extending his margin to 0.132s over Russell.

The Mercedes driver was unable to improve, his final lap was deleted for track limits though unlikely to have toppled the Red Bull driver based on the microsectors to that point.

Hamilton meanwhile did improve, setting a 1:18.084s to claim third.

Bottas split the Ferraris, Sainz in fifth and Leclerc dropping to seventh. The balance of the top 10 was Norris, Alonso, and Ocon.

Magnussen and Stroll will take grid penalties for the race, dropping them down the order, though the top 10 is set to start the race unchanged.

The Mexico City Grand Prix begins at 14:00 local time on Sunday (20:00 BST/15:00 ET/06:00 AEDT).

Results: Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, Qualifying