The practice form book was turned on its head in qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix, as Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz locked out the front row for Ferrari, forcing pre-session favourite Max Verstappen to settle for third for Red Bull, with former team mate Daniel Ricciardo a sensational fourth for AlphaTauri.
Local hero Sergio Perez will start from P5 in the sister Red Bull, joined on the third row by Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, whose team mate George Russell lines up immediately behind in P8, next to the P7 McLaren of Oscar Piastri.
Alfa Romeo had a strong Saturday, with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu completing the top ten. Less happy after qualifying was podium regular Lando Norris, who wound up only 19th for McLaren – he will start 17th for the Grand Prix.
And at the back of the grid we have Williams' Logan Sargeant, who failed to set a qualifying time and picked up a 10-place grid penalty for a yellow-flag infringement, in 20th, just behind Yuki Tsunoda in the second AlphaTauri.
READ MORE: Ricciardo says P4 grid slot ‘no fluke’ as he vows to ‘put up a fight’ in Mexico City GP
Tsunoda had already been demoted to the back of the grid earlier in the weekend for taking on multiple new power unit and gearbox components.
Finally, Lance Stroll will start from the pit lane after Aston Martin opted for pre-race set-up changes on the Canadian driver's car. Stroll had qualified 18th.
Starting Grid
FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO 2023
Pos. | Driver | Time |
---|---|---|
1 | Charles LeclercLEC | 1:17.166 |
2 | Carlos SainzSAI | 1:17.233 |
3 | Max VerstappenVER | 1:17.263 |
4 | Daniel RicciardoRIC | 1:17.382 |
5 | Sergio PerezPER | 1:17.423 |
6 | Lewis HamiltonHAM | 1:17.454 |
7 | Oscar PiastriPIA | 1:17.623 |
8 | George RussellRUS | 1:17.674 |
9 | Valtteri BottasBOT | 1:18.032 |
10 | Zhou GuanyuZHO | 1:18.050 |
The 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix starts at 1400 local time. Be sure to join our live coverage from 1300 here.
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