Max Verstappen is on course for a third straight win in Mexico after claiming a shock pole in qualifying.
The Red Bull driver posted a blistering 1m14.758s to upset the form book and beat the two Ferrari’s, who had been expected to dominate on Saturday.
Instead, the Italian team had to settle for second and third as a big crash for Valtteri Bottas at the final corner prevented the drivers from improving on their final runs.
Q1
At the front, Red Bull set the pace with Max Verstappen two-tenths clear of Alex Albon with Charles Leclerc third for Ferrari, as the top teams had no issues.
Instead, the pressure was on the Haas cars and Lance Stroll to try and make the top 15.
However, none could find the necessary improvement to dislodge Antonio Giovinazzi as Stroll’s single lap weakness returned once again.
Haas’ miserable record at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez continued too with Kevin Magnussen 17th and Romain Grosjean, who spun at Turn 1 on his first flying lap, 18th.
Once again, the two Williams’ brought up the field but George Russell was only two-tenths down on Grosjean in 19th and a massive 1.4 seconds faster than teammate Robert Kubica.
Q2
Into Q2, and most of the expected top 10 runners opted for the medium compound tyre in a hope of avoiding the soft which was graining badly on the long run in practice.
Ferrari would up the ante with Sebastian Vettel dipping into the 1m15s but Verstappen sat only two-tenths back in second, splitting the two red cars.
Mercedes would slip back slightly with Hamilton half a second down in fifth and Bottas would set his best time on the second flying lap after an error in the stadium.
The different tyre strategies also led to a fascinating battle to make the top 10, with Perez, Norris and the two Renaults having gone on the soft tyre.
That pushed Sainz and Gasly into the drop zone and facing a tough decision on whether to stick with their medium tyre approach.
Ultimately, the pair would switch to the softs and secure their places in Q3, but with free tyre choice, Sergio Perez will likely be happy in P11.
Hulkenberg and Ricciardo likewise will be confident of moving up into the points from 12th and 13th respectively.
The two Alfa Romeo’s would complete the top 15, as Kimi Raikkonen got the better of Giovnazzi by three-tenths of a second.
Q3
First blood went to Red Bull in the fight for pole as Verstappen dipped into the 1m14’s to lead the two Ferraris and Hamilton in fourth.
Into the second runs, Leclerc was up on the Dutchman’s time in the first two sectors but a mistake at Turn 12 ended his challenge.
Max’s second pole this year was then confirmed after Bottas ran wide exiting the Peraltada, slamming into the barrier and preventing those behind from improving.
There is a possibility Verstappen could be investigated after improving his Sector 3 time under the yellow flags after Bottas’ crash, but it’s unlikely to deny him pole.
As a result, Leclerc held onto second with Vettel in third, as the predictions of Ferrari dominating qualifying proved wrong.
Hamilton starts fourth ahead of Albon as Bottas rounds out the top six in the second Mercedes.
In the midfield, it was McLaren who got the better of Toro Rosso in the fight for ‘best of the rest’.
Sainz led teammate Lando Norris in seventh, with Daniil Kvyat ahead of Gasly to round out the top 10.
Full results from qualifying can be seen below: