It had to be a front row monopolized by the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, and instead the Mercedes W12s of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton will start from the first two positions on the grid.
The unimaginable happened in qualifying for the Mexican GP. The Frecce Nere, which appeared in great difficulty until the third free practice session, managed to overturn the predictions, while the Red Bulls suffered more than expected.
Undoubtedly, the increase in the asphalt temperature compared to the morning put the balance of the RB16Bs in crisis and it was Max Verstappen who confirmed this at the end of the session.
The Dutchman appeared disappointed with the final result. The third time was certainly not what he expected on the eve of the session and the chaos created by Perez and Tsunoda in front of him in the last attempt did not facilitate his task.
“During the qualifying we lost some balance. During the last attempt I was sure I was doing a good lap, then I don’t know what happened in front of me. I saw two riders who went off the track and I raised my foot for the yellow flag thus compromising the lap ”.
In the radio team aired mercilessly by the international director Verstappen was heard calling an idiot to the driver who ended up off the track which caused the yellow flags forcing him to abort the attempt.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
In all likelihood Max did not know that it was his squire who had inadvertently penalized him, but despite the bitterness for a blurred pole Verstappen tried to look at the glass half full.
“Even without an optimal balance, the pole was within our reach. Third place is not fantastic, but on this track it is always better to start from the third place than from the second ”.
For Red Bull there were two elements that played against. In addition to the increase in asphalt temperatures, there was also a problem with the rear wing that emerged shortly before the start of the session which forced the mechanics to race against time.
“We had to work a little on the rear wing. Before qualifying everything was normal, but I don’t think we struggled with that problem ”.
Despite the bitterness for the third reference of the day, Verstappen does not give up and aims decisively for success in the race.
“Tomorrow we will certainly fight against Mercedes. Qualifying did not go as expected, but we will not be using these tires in the race and everything is still at stake ”.
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