Verstappen, intractable pole in Mexico against two Mercedes

A close battle for pole position is expected with up to 6 candidates. Q2 warns of the coming battle. hamilton led by only 8 thousandths sainz13 compared to Russell14 in Verstappen and 63 in relation to Perez. 5 pilots at 63 thousandths. Four men in 14 thousandths. And there was another Leclerc who tried to join the party who in the end didn’t come. The battle should be decided in a great final battle in Q3. The ‘Sun Forum’ it was fired with a ‘quality’ that had all the spices the Mexican public wanted to see. On Friday they continued to scream non-stop in Free Practice 2 irrelevantly because they were Pirelli tests. They deserve a great show. They wanted to see the national idol, ‘Checo’ Pérez, in the first place. But that ‘show’ was fueled by the current world champion. rennet. Without consideration. Max Verstappen made Q3 to frame and was without a rival. He reached his sixth pole of the season so it is clear that even at his teammate’s house he does not plan to relax. Only he knows how to win. He wants to win. And he will go at it this Sunday from the pole.

Local fans hope to see Checo succeed this Sunday, because in qualifying, at one turn, the strongest was the Dutchman, who showed no mercy to anyone. They both worked hard Mercedesbut they were unable to become two-time champions. Max was imposed on Russell (2nd) of 0″304 already hamilton (3rd) of 0″309. ‘Czech‘ was fourth three tenths, ahead of Sainz (5th at 0”576) and a boots (6th) who surprised everyone with an incredible performance on his wheel Alfa Romeo at a track where he took pole last year. He even beat a Leclerc just out (7th at 0.780).

Verstappen, unopposed in two attempts

The pole contenders played it all or nothing in the final 11 minutes, with two tries each. The first to try his luck was Checo. The decibels of the Autodromo rose as he drove past, at full speed at the controls of his Red Bull. They should have given him more wings from the stands than his car already had. He put himself first and the circuit went crazy, and he growled even more when he saw that the Ferraris couldn’t keep up. Sainz and Leclerc were two tenths behind, 6 tenths in a very bad lap. But from behind came two rockets. Verstappen took first place in a first vueltón, mercilessly at his partner’s house, without leaving even the crumbs behind. And Russell, with a Mercedes already at altitude, without so much air density, did not suffer much in the straight, finishing second, beating Pérez.

Verstappen was first, with Russell at 0″132, Pérez at 0″206, Sainz at 0″404 and Bottas in fifth place at 0″851. Hamilton waits for his chance as he has to abort his first lap. He is playing cards. And meanwhile, Alonso recorded the seventh fastest time. There was still one last attempt that the Spaniard was unable to make due to a lack of new tires. But no matter how hard they tried, Max Verstappen couldn’t stop them. Russell and Hamilton tried everything, and despite being very fast in the second sector, they couldn’t beat Max.

A double edge pole

But be careful, because pole position in Mexico doesn’t mean total joy for Verstappen. It’s still a long way to the first corner and the first to start, with no slipstream, often suffers. Russell, Hamilton, Pérez and Sainz will try to win the game at that start.

Besides all this, Max cannot sleep peacefully like in other Grand Prix. His key advantage this year in the second half of the season is his good tire management and race speed. That tipped the balance in their favor against the Ferraris. But this time, they will face Mercedes, who if they stand out for one thing it is for their pace on Sunday and how well they look after the tyres. Russell and a Hamilton eager to fight the Dutchman seem complicated rivals at the start for a Max who must first focus on defending his starting position, a task that will not be easy.

Alonso, 9th and Alpine-McLaren battle

Fernando Alonso will start 9th in this Sunday’s Mexican F1 GP, just ahead of his teammate Esteban Ocon (10th). The two Alpines cannot afford to waste time in a senseless fratricidal fight as they play for fourth place in the Constructors with McLaren, and it is one of the cars from Woking that will start before the two French single- seater, the one. from Norris, from the eighth squarewhile Ricciardo would do just behind, 11th.

Alonso paid for having only one new tire to play Q3. He played a card on his first try. He put in a good lap on the bench and didn’t start again, something that relegated him from 7th to 9th place in the final. The Spaniard will be looking for points again, as he did in Austin in epic fashion. And most of all, he hopes to live a clean race, without disasters or strange punishments.