Mexico – Qualifying: Hamilton on pole at the end of the suspense!

It was for the second edition of the “new” Mexican Grand Prix that the qualifying session took place at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in a very festive atmosphere. Even before the session kicked off, Renault driver Jolyon Palmer was unable to participate; the reason being a crack in the monocoque of his chassis that appeared after the last free practice session earlier in the day; his team was unable to repair this damage before the qualifying trials. The Englishman will have to rely on the leniency of the race stewards to hope to take part in tomorrow’s race.

#F1ESTA! Top ten shootout coming up… #Quali #MexicoGP 🇲🇽 #F1 pic.twitter.com/qknLAaiVSe

— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 octobre 2016

Small feat by Wehrlein, poor performance for the Haas team

At the green light of the first part of the qualifications, we find the two Haas and the two Manor, all equipped with super-soft tires; Haas cars that struggle to achieve a good level of grip at the beginning of the session.

A trend towards super-soft tires to which even Ferrari and Mercedes succumb! In the flurry of the first timed laps from the leading teams, the Ferrari drivers dominate their field, with Räikkönen ahead of Vettel. The Finn thus creates a gap of more than three-tenths of a second over Vettel and Verstappen and more than four-tenths over Hamilton, Ricciardo, and Rosberg.

Lewis Hamilton, against the wall compared to his teammate Rosberg in the overall standings, bounces back by reclaiming the fastest lap time, just as Ricciardo, who finishes 3rd in Q1, between the two Ferraris.

At the end of the session, in the country of “free wrestling,” Pascal Wehrlein in the Manor sends the Haas drivers to the mat by grabbing the last qualifying spot for Q2, half a second ahead of the first non-qualifier Esteban Gutierrez! Romain Grosjean, meanwhile, will start in the penultimate position tomorrow, in front of Palmer’s absent Renault.

Come on son 💪 Q2 pic.twitter.com/psK5tciEMW

— Manor Racing (@ManorRacing) 29 octobre 2016

Eliminated in Q1: 17. Gutierrez, 18. Kvyat, 19. Nasr, 20. Ocon, 21. Grosjean

The soft tire is a strong component in the leaders’ strategy, except for Ricciardo.

After the surprise of seeing all the drivers equipped with red-walled tires in Q1, Q2 opens with Hamilton’s Mercedes on soft tires: a certain shortage of yellow-walled tires in the garages seems to explain the use of super-softs in Q1. However, the tires used for the best time in Q2 will be those used by the top ten at the start of the race.

First alert for the Briton from Mercedes who, as in the beginning of practice 3, complains of vibrations in his tires. Nevertheless, he sets a 1:19.137 as an initial reference, disrupted in the final corner by Vettel’s Ferrari, which closely follows Hamilton on the timing sheet. Nico Rosberg, on the other hand, is relegated to six-tenths behind his rival for the world title. The Red Bulls are on point with Verstappen taking the fastest time with a 1:18.972 and Ricciardo in 4th place lurking. Consequently, Rosberg and Räikkönen are left behind, in 5th and 6th places respectively.

For the end of Q2, Räikkönen and Rosberg play it safe and return to the Mexico track, the former on super soft tires, the latter still on soft tires, without improving their respective times! Local driver Sergio Pérez fails in his last attempt to move into Q3 and will start 12th on the grid.

Eliminated in Q2: 11. Alonso, 12. Pérez, 13. Button, 14. Magnussen, 15. Ericsson, 16. Wehrlein

And in the end, it’s Mercedes that wins.

At the green light for the super-pole, the Mercedes drivers set off. Far from crushing the competition as usual, the Silver Arrows have rarely seemed so vulnerable.

After an initial aborted attempt, for Hamilton as well as Rosberg, Hamilton manages to clinch the best time, ahead of the two Red Bull Renaults. Rosberg, on the other hand, crosses the finish line only in 4th place. Behind them, the Ferraris struggle to keep up and occupy the 6th and 8th positions.

For the second round of timed laps, Lewis Hamilton leaves his garage early to give himself two preparation laps for his tires, unlike his main competitors for pole position.

In this second attempt, the surprise comes from the fact that most of the drivers involved in this Q3 are unable, or only slightly able, to improve their times. Possibly to blame is the blazing Mexico sun, which might be affecting the grip of the cars on the track. A situation that doesn’t faze Nico Rosberg, who snatches the second position and, in a nail-biting finish, outpaces the Red Bull drivers!

Nico Hülkenberg in his Force India slots between the two Red Bulls and the two Ferraris to climb to 5th position, showing a stark contrast to Pérez’s 12th place. The Ferraris were not present for the super-pole and were rather discreet, despite a weekend start at full speed, especially for Sebastian Vettel.

BREAKING: @LewisHamilton takes pole at the #MexicoGP ahead of @nico_rosberg (P2) and @Max33Verstappen (P3) #Quali 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/MvIuYwiQyH

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 29, 2016

Lewis Hamilton claims his 59th pole position in Formula 1 on a 24th different circuit with a time of 1:18.704, the best lap performance of the weekend.

**Voici le classement complet de cette séance qualificative:**

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF QUALIFYING): @MercedesAMGF1 title rivals set for front row duel at the #MexicoGP 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/pqiKugF8VN

— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 octobre 2016