Verstappen beats Ferraris in qualifying but will start fourth after grid penalty for failing to slow for yellow flags; Leclerc will line up on pole, Vettel second, Hamilton - who can seal title - third
Sunday 27 October 2019 00:15, UK
Max Verstappen ended Ferrari's qualifying streak by outpacing Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel at the Mexican GP - although he dramatically lost pole for the race after being handed a three-place grid penalty.
After meeting with FIA race stewards, Verstappen was punished for failing to slow for single waved yellows following Valtteri Bottas' heavy crash at the end of Q3 and will drop to fourth on the grid for Sunday's race.
Leclerc is therefore set to start on pole, while Lewis Hamilton, who will secure a sixth F1 title on Sunday if he outscores Bottas by 14 points in the race, will be third instead of his original position of fourth.
Bottas had a dramatic shunt at the end of a competitive qualifying, which saw all three leading teams fighting for pole, and could only manage sixth behind Alex Albon.
How Verstappen took pole - and why he will not start there
Verstappen's pole was only the second of his sparkling F1 career and initially dealt a heavy blow to favourites Ferrari, who were looking to extend their five-race unbeaten qualifying run.
The Dutchman outpaced Leclerc by 0.266s, with Vettel a tenth further back.
"It's been an interesting day but to come out on top was incredible," said Verstappen, who could secure a hat-trick of Mexico wins on Sunday.
"The team kept pushing hard, kept bringing new parts to the car and today we showed we are very quick."
The qualifying order was set from the first laps in Q3 as Bottas' late crash into the barriers at the final corner caused yellow flags and denied the Ferraris a chance to beat Verstappen - although neither Leclerc nor Vettel looked likely to snatch pole.
Verstappen, however, who was the last driver to cross the line, did improve on his time despite the yellow flags.
An investigation was not initially launched but Verstappen was summoned to the stewards after his comments in the post-qualifying press conference. When asked if he backed off, Verstappen replied: "It didn't really look like it, did it? No."
With that admission, Verstappen essentially doomed himself - and was given a three-place grid penalty.
Elsewhere, McLaren impressed again, with Carlos Sainz securing an increasingly regular seventh place - just ahead of young team-mate Lando Norris who bemoaned a sloppy session despite beating his other midfield rivals.
Toro Rosso rounded off an impressive day for Honda power with both drivers in the final shootout.
Mexican GP Qualifying Result
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull*
2. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
4. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
5. Alex Albon, Red Bull
6. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
7. Carlos Sainz, McLaren
8. Lando Norris, McLaren
9. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso
10. Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso
*handed three-place grid penalty
Ferrari denied pole, but will start on pole... and why Hamilton is happy
A team with a "massive" advantage who were "miles ahead" was how Hamilton and Verstappen described Ferrari's pre-qualifying form, and before the shootout began, all signs pointed to the Scuderia securing a sixth straight F1 2019 pole.
Vettel topped P2, Leclerc was ahead in final practice, and Ferrari were gaining around half a second on the long Mexico City straights.
But the Italian team did not top any of the qualifying segments - Red Bull set the pace in Q1 and Mercedes in Q2 - and then could not extract the optimum grip from their tyres in the final stages.
"We would like to be a bit further up, I think it was possible," said Vettel, while Leclerc added: "Red Bull was very quick. Max was very quick."
Very quick, Max may be - but Leclerc will still start on pole.
Despite finishing behind that top three, Hamilton was also content with his day. The championship leader knows beating Bottas by 14 points is unrealistic here but is still determined to wrap up his sixth crown sooner rather than later.
Starting third gives him a much better chance.
"I think third place was possible but I'm generally happy with today," Hamilton, whose record-breaking Mercedes team claim Mexico is their worst race of the year, told Sky F1. "It's just hard to keep up with the others.
"We knew it would be hard this weekend coming here, but I gave it everything. It wasn't enough for pole but I think I got everything out of the car and it puts us in a fighting position for tomorrow so I hope I can get a good start."
His team-mate and title-rival Bottas was breathing heavily on the team radio after his crash, when he lost grip on the kerb, but got cleared in the medical centre after qualifying.
Renault, out in Q2, and Haas, out in Q1, had days to forget, while George Russell continued his perfect qualifying record after beating Williams team-mate Robert Kubica by over a second at the back of the grid.
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