Max Verstappen beats Mercedes and starts the hunt for record win from pole | formula 1

By Marijn Abbenhuijs

It was Mercedes that made a big impression all Saturday. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished first and second in the final free practice session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez early in the afternoon. They were a few tenths of a second faster than Max Verstappen.

And the German racing stable was also dominant during qualifying. Hamilton was the fastest of them all in both Q1 and Q2. It was striking, given the statements the seven-time world champion made in Austin last weekend. He was then asked about his chances of winning this season and which track would give him the best chance. Hamilton responded by indicating that the race at the Circuit of the Americas would probably have been the greatest opportunity and the difference with the Red Bull would be too great to book another victory in 2022 without a good dose of luck.

But in Mexico City, that attitude seemed to have been a little too modest. Seemed, because at the decisive moment Verstappen was faster again. In the final, and decisive, round of qualifying, the two-time world champion was ahead of both Mercedes by no less than 0.3 seconds. Russell came in second and apologized for it over the onboard radio. He lost his chance for pole position in the last part of his final lap.

Watch the denouement of Q3

,,It was a good qualifying”, said Verstappen afterwards at the microphone of former driver David Coulthard. He said again that the Dutchman was already the best here in 2019 on Saturday, but was then put back and had to give up pole position. ,,It was close, but after VT3 we made some adjustments that made the car better. It’s a long sprint to the first corner, so we need a good start, but the most important thing is that we have a fast car. The passion of all the fans makes it really great to ride here in Mexico. Also Checo hopefully will be there tomorrow. It should be a fun race with a lot of action.”

Hamilton saw his first fast lap time, which was also slightly slower than Verstappen’s first lap, being taken away because he had exceeded the track limits. With his second attempt he still drove to P3. Home favorite Sergio Pérez was fourth shortly after and will have to overtake three drivers during the grand prix to bring Mexican fans into ecstasy.