A new name was added to the list of this year’s pole position holders at the qualifying session of the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, which was won by Carlos Sainz. With this, the Spaniard from Ferrari can record his first start of the year and the sixth of his career, and behind him the biggest expectations of the individual world championship, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris, will wait for the red lights to go out.
At the end of the qualifying session, the former IndyCar competitor, James Hinchcliffe made by it interviews with the first three places.
“I’m very happy, especially because in Mexico you often feel like you can’t put together a normal lap, you slip so much,” he said after his pole Sainz. “To be honest, my two Q3 laps today were pretty much the same, almost perfect. Those two really solid laps were enough for pole, and I’m very happy about that, because that’s not usually the case in Mexico.”
“Since the weekend in Austin, we’ve definitely made progress, at least as far as I’m concerned. During the qualifying session, we also tried to find something extra in the lead-up lap and in the preparation of the tires, and it looks like we are moving in the right direction from this point of view as well,” the Spaniard praised Ferrari. “I’m looking forward to finishing the job tomorrow, or at least taking pole today.”
“It’s clear that our main priority is to reach the finish line with both cars, especially if victory is at stake, which means an extra seven or eight points, which is important for the team among the constructors,” he said. “That’s why I’m looking forward to taking the lead in Turn 1 as well, and from there hopefully we’ll have a good pace to win.”
The fastest of the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying session. (Photo: Bryn Lennon/Formula 1/Getty Images)
“Pretty big,” he snapped Verstappen, when asked how much pressure he was under after his first Q3 time was taken for leaving the track. “Yesterday we didn’t really manage to do many laps, so we mostly played to catch up.”
“The third free practice didn’t go too well either, because of that alone I was under a lot of pressure. After that, they took my nail, so the pressure only got bigger. I’m very happy to start from the front row because I didn’t really think it would be possible.”
“Even if it’s hard for me to say it, I’m honestly very happy with third place,” he said Norris. “I feel that I found the limits of the car quite quickly, which seemed to put us in a good position. Still, I had to fight to get the most out of my last two laps.”
“Carlos and Max had good laps, Carlos in particular was very fast all weekend. I am satisfied with the third place,” said the Briton. “It’s hard to say because nobody has done ideal long stages on the tires we’ll be using tomorrow,” he said of Sunday’s chances. “There are still question marks, but Ferrari has been very good both on a lap and race pace in the last few races.”
Source: www.vezess.hu
