Carlos Sainz claimed a thrilling pole position for the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix, outpacing title contenders Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. Sainz secured his first pole in over a year with two strong laps in Q3, while Verstappen salvaged his qualifying with a clean second lap after his initial effort was deleted due to track limits.
Verstappen finished 0.225 seconds behind Sainz but would start just ahead of Norris, who trailed him by 57 points in the Drivers’ Championship. McLaren had entered qualifying as favourites, but Norris couldn’t extract the necessary pace when it counted and would aim to overtake Verstappen on the long run down to Turn One.
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Charles Leclerc, frustrated by a subpar final lap on an evolving track, started fourth, followed by Mercedes teammates George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
It was a dramatic session, with local favourite Sergio Perez and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri unexpectedly knocked out in Q1. Both facing a challenging race, starting from the back of the grid.
Mexico City GP Qualifying Results
2024 Mexico City Grand Prix Qualifying, 26 October 2024
Ferrari showed strong form throughout Friday’s practice, but McLaren took a one-two finish in the final practice session leading into qualifying. However, as the track evolved and conditions cooled—reminiscent of the 2023 Mexico City performance—Ferrari found their pace, with Carlos Sainz capitalising after a Q3 delay due to Yuki Tsunoda’s crash at the end of Q2.
Sainz, set to leave Ferrari for Williams in 2025, was initially quicker than Verstappen on the first Q3 runs and further improved his time with a second run to secure pole position.
Verstappen faced tension in Q3 as his first lap was deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn Two, putting him under immense pressure. However, he responded with an impressive lap, keeping the car within track limits to beat Norris by 0.089 seconds and claim a spot on the front row.
Norris, after a challenging first Q3 run, recovered to third and will look to capitalize on the slipstream effect heading into Turn One.
Despite the competitive field, neither Verstappen nor Norris could match Sainz, who achieved his first pole since the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc endured two messy laps in Q3, leaving him in fourth. Ferrari, though, still had a chance to reduce their 48-point gap to McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship, as both Piastri and Perez were eliminated in Q1.
George Russell qualified fifth in his Mercedes despite driving an older-spec car following a significant crash in practice. Due to limited spare parts, Mercedes was forced to replace Russell’s chassis with the Miami-spec version from May. Russell nonetheless out-qualified teammate Lewis Hamilton, who, despite having the updated floor, made a mistake on his final lap in Q3.
2024 Mexico City Grand Prix Starting Grid
The Grand Prix starting grid, with or without penalties, after the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix Qualifying session.
Sergio Perez has been under significant pressure after calling his season “terrible,” and the home crowd at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez hoped he’d deliver a strong performance. However, his qualifying session unravelled in Q1, with all three laps falling short, marking his fifth Q1 elimination of 2024.
The Mexican driver appeared hesitant through the corners, ultimately qualifying in 18th place, just behind Oscar Piastri, who also struggled in Q1. Piastri locked up in Turn Four on his initial lap, followed by another lap deletion for exceeding track limits at Turn 12. Even without the deletion, Piastri’s lap wouldn’t have been fast enough to reach Q2, with his mistake costing him roughly a second.
Left with older soft tyres, Piastri couldn’t escape the bottom five and would unlikely be able to support Norris in the title fight, much like Perez’s limited role alongside Verstappen.
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