Mexico Quali: Bottas pole, Merc 1-2
In a stunning reversal of fortunes, the Mercedes cars outclassed Red Bull in Mexico with Bottas on Pole and Hamilton P2. Max and Checo are P3 and P4 respectively.
Bottas shines in Mexico
Mercedes seemed to be on a backfoot in all the practice sessions. Mexico race track is located 2200 meters above the sea level. The air is thin and the engines gasp for more oxygen. Even historically it has never suited Mercedes. In Q1 and Q2 the Red Bull cars were comfortably ahead of the Mercs. However things changed in Q3. Mercedes was finally able to get the right setup for their cars in the final qualifying session. The Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas put in a scintillating lap in his first run and that was more than enough to get him the Pole position.
Lewis Hamilton struggled in all the practice sessions. However he put in a good lap when it mattered the most but still could not match his team-mate Bottas. He will be starting P2, from the front row. Lewis is currently 12 points behind Max and will be eager to close the gap.
Red Bull missed the mark
Red Bull were the favorites even before we came to the track. The high altitude suits their Honda engine relatively better. There were very high hopes from home boy Sergio Perez as he is in a potentially race winning car for the first time since his F1 career started. Mexico boy Checo topped the timing sheets from FP3 and the crowd went wild in anticipation. Red Bull were quick in all the practice sessions and in Q1 and Q2. However things just didn’t work out in Q3, when it mattered.
Max missed the mark in the first run of Q3 as Bottas put in a fantastic lap. He was able to string a very good lap in the final run but then Yuki Tsunoda went off the track, pushing his car too much. This caused Checo to lose concentration too and Max slowed down anticipating a Yellow flag, losing around 3/10th in the process. He will be starting P3 on the track tomorrow. However he is on the clean side of the track and the starting line is very long. So he will be anticipating to make a few moves on turn 1.
Checo missed the chance to get Pole position in front of his home crowd in Mexico. He will be starting P4. Red Bull pace is good on the long run and would like to move up against Mercedes soon. Checo would be very happy with a podium finish. A race win would be just crazy.
Ferrari boys doing better than McLaren boys
Ferrari just seemed to have an edge over McLaren as their engine suits better at this high altitude track. Carlos Sainz put in a fine lap to finish P6. Charles Leclerc, despite having setup issues looked very good in the Quali session. But he missed the mark in the final run and finished P8.
Daniel seems to have find some form although both the McLaren cars were looking very much out of touch in the practice sessions. He finished P7. Lando is taking Engine penalty, so will be starting from the back, despite his P10 finish.
Gasly back in form
Pierre Gasly has driven very well throughout the season but luck has eluded him time and again. Not this time though. He put in a great lap, partly thanks to his team mate Yuki Tsunoda who gave him a nice tow in the first run. He finished P5 just behind the Mercs and the Red Bulls. Yuki also finished P9 although he will be starting from the back thanks to Engine penalties.
Mexico Quali Classification : Bottas topped the time sheets
