Qualifying – Vettel’s twist despite a combative Verstappen

The qualifying sessions have lacked uncertainty in recent weeks. Between a Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) domineering with his magic button and the worries of Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), the identity of the pole sitter was (almost) known in advance. This was not the case in Mexico (Mexico), where the German driver snatched the best time from Max Verstappen during the final effort.

The leader of Scuderia Ferrari went all out on his last lap. “It was a hell of a ride”, he explained as soon as the car stopped. “I'm very happy, the track was slippery a lot. » Max Verstappen failed to preserve his property, an infuriating outcome for the Dutchman who had until then completed a perfect session. " I am very disappointed. In Q3, it became more complicated for me. Clearly, finishing 2nd is not what I was looking for… I wanted pole. »

Placed on the second row of the starting grid, Lewis Hamilton made a few small mistakes, going here and there off the track with generous slips. “The two drivers in front of me did a remarkable job. I could have gone a few tenths faster but it wouldn't have changed anything.", he says.

On the French side, Esteban Ocon (Force India, 6th) is doing like a charm; there car rose gets ahead of it Red Bull de Daniel Ricciardo and his teammate Sergio Pérez (10th). The stable Renault manages to place his two single-seaters in the Top 10, with Nico Hulkenberg 8th, in front Carlos Sainz Jr (9th).

The Toro Rosso were hit by several problems. Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso) did not participate in the session after an engine shutdown in Free Practice 3; the car was not ready to leave the pits. As for Brendon Hartley, his car also let out a plume of white smoke. Romain Grosjean (Haas) and Kevin Magnussen (Haas) close the timesheet.