Max barely misses out on the pole: 'It's still good to be second'

Published on 27 October 2018 by Mike Motilall

The past two days it looked increasingly that Max Verstappen would be taking his first ever pole position on Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez. But in the dying seconds of qualifying, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing-team mate Daniel Ricciardo beat the Dutchman just barely. Max will therefore be starting the Mexican Grand Prix from the second spot.  

Somewhat disappointed Max had the following to say: “The whole qualifying was crap. We are trying to get the whole weekend sorted out, but I had the same problems we had in FP2. The engine braking wasn’t working the way I wanted to, with my rear locking up on the car. We tried to make the best of it. I thought it was going to be enough with the promise it had. I was surprised that I was first at the beginning of Q3. I am not sure we can solve the problems by tomorrow though, but I’ll drive around.”

Looking ahead at the race, Max says: “Despite that this really sucks, it’s still good to be second. It’s not bad.” It’s a long straight to the first corner, where the competitors can probably slipstream. “Mercedes is not so bad regarding top speed, but Ferrari is really fast on the straight, so we need to make sure we have a clean start. I hope that I can win the race.”

Despite the predicted rain qualifying starts on a completely dry track. Both Mercedes-drivers start Q1 on ultra-soft tyres, while the rest of the field is on the hyper-softs. After the first run, Max is P1 with a 1:15.756, closely followed by his team mate Daniel Ricciardo. Ferrari is third (Vettel) and fourth (Raikkonen) and Mercedes fifth (Hamilton) and seventh (Bottas).

However, the Silver Arrows opt for a second run, but now on the hyper-softs, as Bottas (1:15.580) and Hamilton (1:15.673) grab the first two spots. Max moves on to the second part of qualifying in third. First dropouts are Grosjean, Vandoorne, Magnussen, Stroll and Sirotkin.

Mercedes start off Q2 also on the ultra-softs. Ferrari and Red Bull Racing follow suit and Racing Point Force India even give the super-softs a go. After the first run of the top teams, Max is leading the pack (1:15.640) by four thousandths followed by Hamilton. Vettel, Ricciardo, Bottas and Raikkonen complete the top six.

The second run in Q2 all teams are on the hyper-softs, except for Racing Point Force India, they have gone for the ultra-softs. The three top teams are of course quicker, but all abort their lap. This means that the drivers from Red Bull Racing, Mercedes and Ferrari will start the race on the ultra-softs. Dropouts in the second part of qualifying are: Ocon, Alonso, Perez, Hartley and Gasly will be starting from the back of the field on Sunday due to an engine change.

In the final part of qualifying, Max not only sets a new track record in his first lap with a 1:14.758, but also outdoes his peers. Vettel trails by two tenths, in his wake Hamilton, Ricciardo, Bottas and Raikkonen. By then there are six minutes remaining, which means a second run.

Some better their lap times, including Ricciardo. He manages to beat Verstappen by 26 thousandths of a second. Not only snatching pole from the Dutchman but also taking away the newly set track record. This means Red Bull Racing has locked out the front row, with Max in second. A small let down as he’s been the quickest in every free practice session. Championship contenders Hamilton and Vettel share the second row while Bottas and Raikkonen are on the third.

The Mexican Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 20.10 hrs local Dutch time.

Mexican GP contest: win a Red Bull Racing shoulder bag!

Results qualifying Mexico: