Charles Leclerc will start from pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix after putting in an impressive lap around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez amid an eventful qualifying hour.
The Monegasque caused a surprise by setting provisional pole as the first laps went on the board in Q3, clocking a time of 1m 17.166s. It proved hard to beat, resulting in Leclerc and team mate Carlos Sainz locking out the front row in a Ferrari one-two.
After setting the pace throughout the weekend’s practice sessions, Max Verstappen was unable to complete his run of claiming P1 and took third on the grid, though the Red Bull man is amongst a group of drivers set to be investigated by the stewards after the session.
Daniel Ricciardo was an impressive fourth, with local hero Sergio Perez in fifth and Lewis Hamilton joining him on the third row in sixth.
Alex Albon had initially made it into Q3, having looked promising during free practice, but dropped down the order to P14 immediately after the session when his lap time was deleted for a track limits infringement, promoting Zhou Guanyu back into the top 10 shootout.
Meanwhile there were some surprises in a dramatic Q1, with Lando Norris – the closest challenger to Verstappen in Friday practice – making a shock exit while Fernando Alonso sparked a yellow flag in the final moments after spinning in Turn 3, which then hindered some of the drivers behind.
Click on the video above to watch the highlights from an action-packed Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying.
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