Carlos Sainz dominates Mexican qualifying: a "surprised" Fred Vasseur enjoys return to pole
Yesterday at 07:41 PM
Following the United States Grand Prix at the Austin circuit, Scuderia Ferrari starts the Mexican weekend with strong momentum. Carlos Sainz managed a remarkable pole position in Mexico City with a gap of over two-tenths to his closest rival, Max Verstappen, who will start alongside him on the front row. The Spaniard found perfect form in Q3, and although he improved his final lap, his first attempt was already fast enough to secure pole.
Carlos Sainz described his Q3 laps as "almost perfect," emphasizing the ideal feel he found with the SF-24 at the decisive moment. However, Ferrari's confidence mainly stems from the progress shown by the car here in Mexico, where it has been the best in one-lap pace, a feature that has often posed challenges this season.
Throughout the year, the SF-24 has often shown greater strength in race pace than in qualifying, given its tendency to preserve tires but struggle to maximize grip in the narrow window required for a single lap.
Frederic Vasseur highlighted this during his comments after pole position, while also noting the unexpected nature of the result. The Mexican track is unique, as it puts extra strain on the rear tires, making it essential to find balance over a single lap.
"It's definitely a great qualifying result, even though we didn't expect pole, as our race pace is much stronger. But today's surprise is a positive one. Carlos did an excellent job with two laps that would've been enough for pole. And even Charles, despite not being fully happy with his lap, is close to Norris, and we're in the fight for tomorrow," said Ferrari's Team Principal to Sky Sport F1. He added that Charles Leclerc's fourth-place finish, despite some difficulty with the SF-24's handling, still provides a solid starting point to put pressure on and score points against McLaren and Red Bull, both of whom lost one car in Q1.
The French manager, however, is well aware of a key factor, especially in Mexico: pole is only half the battle. With such a long straight, an imperfect launch from pole risks losing the lead by Turn 1. The first goal will be to hold onto the lead through the first corner and then aim to build on the strong race pace shown in Friday's practice.
"Since the start of the season, I think we've consistently had better pace on Sundays than Saturdays; so, securing pole is excellent. We had a great weekend last week in Austin, which is a good sign for tomorrow, but we know it's a long straight to Turn 1." – he pointed out – "The most important strategic factor is having strong race pace. As we know, Mexico has the longest straight to Turn 1 of the season, so it's not guaranteed to stay in first, but starting from pole is definitely better. We had strong pace in yesterday's race simulations, and I hope we can keep the same approach tomorrow," added the Team Principal.
Frederic Vasseur also pointed out a crucial aspect of today's pole, namely the effectiveness of upgrades introduced in the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza circuit across a wide range of tracks, affirming the SF-24's progress after a challenging middle part of the 2024 Formula 1 season: "It seems they're working! We performed well in Singapore and Baku, both street circuits, but also at Monza and Austin, and today's pole confirms this." – the French manager concluded at the end of the qualifying session for the Mexico City Grand Prix, which was held earlier today at the 4.304-kilometre Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.
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