It will be an all-Ferrari front row that will open the starting grid of the Mexican Grand Prix tomorrow, with the Ferrari capable of conquering both first and second position, putting behind it the real credit for the pole position on the eve, namely Max Verstappen. In front of everyone there will in fact be the SF-23 number 16, that of Charles Leclerc, capable of climbing to the top of the time charts with a time of 1:17.166, obtained in the first attempt of Q3.
However, going back to Friday, the pole position of the Red team was not in the air and the complete front row had not been taken into account even in the reddest forecasts, because the references coming from free practice did indeed see an SF-23 facing in the top positions, but overall not so competitive as to think of being able to concretely aim for the big shot in qualifying. In fact, both riders of the Cavallino team had made no secret of the fact that they had suffered from overheating on the soft, a compound that is as soft as it is sensitive on a slippery track and where even a few degrees of temperature can make the difference.
Observing the temperatures, in fact, from 46°C in Q1 they went to 42 at the start of the third heat, a much higher reference than that of free practice two, when the asphalt, covered by some clouds, did not exceed 35°C in occasion of the qualification simulations. A significant temperature change that helped some teams, such as Alfa Romeo, but put others in crisis. Even Williams itself, in the space of a few hours, although it had still been able to access Q3 before the time was canceled due to track limits, had seen the balance of the car change significantly.
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, poleman Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, congratulate each other at Parc Ferme
In the first laps of Q3, Ferrari found that window in which the conditions suited its car perfectly, so much so that, together with Perez, the two Prancing Horse drivers were the ones who recorded the greatest progress compared to the second heat. On a track like that of Mexico, it was essential to be able to keep tire temperatures under control, with a correct balance between the front, a key aspect in braking after the straights and in the fast sequence, and the rear, central in the traction areas. The C5 compound makes everything even more complex, because it has a rather narrow ideal window and, on a track that is slippery, it is easy to go outside that thin margin from which the best performance is obtained.
In that short window of time, Ferrari found the best compromise, managing to keep the front tires ready for braking, particularly after the long straight, but without overheating the rear ones. Added to this were also the progress in the third sector, the one where in the first two free practices the Red team had encountered the greatest difficulties from a temperature management point of view.
The first differences compared to Friday can already be seen on the straights, given that in qualifying Red Bull closed the gap to Ferrari that was found in free practice. Following a backwards path, during FP2 the RB19 had shown a significant gap compared to the Italian single-seater, not only in terms of maximum speed, approximately 3 km/h lower, but also in progression over the entire length. This behavior indicated that the SF-23’s gain did not only extend to the final part of the starting straight, as happened on other occasions, but to a much more extensive stretch.
![Telemetry comparison Mexico Qualifying - Verstappen Leclerc](https://cdn-1.motorsport.com/images/mgl/6VRaLX46/s1000/confronto-telemetrico-messico--1.jpg)
Photo by: Gianluca D’Alessandro
Telemetry comparison Mexico Qualifying – Verstappen Leclerc
On the contrary, on Saturday afternoon the roles were reversed. On the main straight, in fact, Red Bull was not only able to close the deficit recorded the day before, but also to gain a few cents, effectively canceling out what was one of the SF-23’s strong points. Observing the data, if the top speeds of the Red car remained similar to those of the two free practices, those of the Red Bull increased by 3 km/h, but it is important to underline that this improvement is found over the entire length, with a progression much faster than FP2. Likewise, the gap on the stretches leading to the braking section of Turn 4 and Turn 12 has also been considerably reduced, with an almost minimal gap which is only noticeable in the moments preceding the braking section: just think that on Friday Verstappen reached the braking point which opens the third sector with a disadvantage of 10 km/h, which then dropped to just 3 km/h on Saturday.
If on the one hand this confirms the step forward of the RB19 in a straight line, on the other it also highlights how, having lost the advantage deriving from what was one of its most solid aspects, Ferrari has compensated by improving its performance in corners, not only in the fast sequence, but also in the slower corners, where on Friday he had suffered from tire overheating.
Leclerc makes braking and entering the first chicane one of his strong points. Paying attention to the telemetry data, it emerges that, in reality, in comparison with Sainz and Verstappen the Monegasque is the driver who remains on the pedal the longest in turn one, but the key in this case is the modulation of the braking phase, with which manages to bring greater speed on entry without missing the apex. In the rest of the chicane two different aspects emerge: on the one hand the aggressiveness in the first change of direction again by Leclerc, on the other the different approach of the two rivals who chose an approach which saw the sacrifice of turn two in favor of a better trajectory for setting up and navigating turn three. Both Verstappen and Sainz, in fact, manage to be more incisive in the last part of the chicane, thus also being able to count on better progression in the traction phase, where Leclerc suffered a slight oversteer.
![The exit from the first chicane of the first sector](https://cdn-7.motorsport.com/images/mgl/6b7aPlp0/s1000/charles-leclerc-ferrari-sf-23-1.jpg)
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
The exit from the first chicane of the first sector
As we had already seen at the braking point of one, even at four the Monegasque manages to make a difference in the braking phase, but this also derives from the different setting of the chicane. Also in this case Leclerc opted for a more decisive entry, also bringing greater speed on entry and travel, even if this then led him to have an unfavorable line for the subsequent change of direction. A choice opposite to that of the other two contenders for pole position, who sacrificed the entry into turn four in favor of a better line for turn five and its exit. The central aspect to mention is that, nevertheless, Leclerc proved to be so effective in braking and turning in that he was able to partially compensate for what was lost in the change of direction, overall emerging with a small advantage from that section of the track.
However, the most tangible improvements of the Red team compared to free practice come from the final part of the central sector and the last intermediate time. As was foreseeable on the eve of the day, the SF-23 on Friday had shown some difficulties in the fast sequence, the guided section where good overall stability counts which allows both not to experience understeer when entering and traveling, and not to lose the rear axle, given the risk of arriving with overheated rear tires after passing through the slow zone.
Compared to Friday, Ferrari managed to improve by as much as 8 km/h when going through turn seven, while Red Bull was not always able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Observing the references of Verstappen’s first fastest lap in Q3, it can be observed that his minimum speed is 184 km/h, much higher when compared with that recorded in the time trial which earned Leclerc pole, which stopped at 179 km/h. However, in the second attempt, the Dutchman was unable to repeat himself because he arrived at the stretch with the rear tires too hot, thus having to correct the oversteer phenomena on two occasions.
![Telemetry comparison Mexico Qualifying - Sainz Leclerc](https://cdn-9.motorsport.com/images/mgl/YXRaLON0/s1000/confronto-telemetrico-messico--1.jpg)
Photo by: Gianluca D’Alessandro
Telemetry comparison Mexico Qualifying – Sainz Leclerc
This also had a negative impact on turn eight, although the three-time world champion was still able to partially recover in turn nine where, as on Friday, he managed to cover the stretch almost completely, while Leclerc was forced to partialize around 80% of the accelerator pedal. It went worse for his teammate, Carlos Sainz, who had to raise up to 50% due to a large oversteer which also took him onto a slightly wider and unfavorable line for the setting of turn ten.
If in the second sector Verstappen’s mistakes also played in his favour, in the third and final half-time the difference was made by the progress made by the Cavallino team compared to the previous day. On Friday, in fact, both Red riders had suffered from overheating of the softer compound, which was particularly sensitive in terms of grip and behaviour. On the contrary, on Saturday the SF-23 managed to achieve a better operating window, manage the overheating of the tires and reverse the roles: from over a tenth of a disadvantage gained in free practice, in qualifying the two Ferrari drivers recorded a most competitive time of the Dutchman, entering the top five of the entire session in that specific stretch of track.
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