Mexican Grand Prix qualifying results: Sainz wins pole as Verstappen gets Norris advantage

All eyes were on and during qualifying at the but it was Carlos Sainz who dominated Q3, claiming a memorable pole position.

The bumper crowd in the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez stadium section were all cheering for one man, but that man was unable to progress from Q1. Sergio Perez was eliminated after qualifying a miserable 18th, putting him under major pressure as his Red Bull future becomes more and more precarious.

Oscar Piastri was also dumped out in Q1. The young Australian struggled to lay down a competitive lap time, spending the entire session scrapping in and around the cut-off line. He was joined in the bottom five by Franco Colapinto, Esteban Ocon and Zhou Guanyu.

While his team-mate struggled, Norris enjoyed a strong Q1 and followed it up with an equally impressive Q2. The McLaren man was the early pace-setter, leading title rival Verstappen by over two-tenths.

The second session of the day was brought to a premature end as Yuki Tsunoda found the barrier in the final sector. The stoppage prevented his team-mate, Liam Lawson, from getting a faster time on the board, while Valtteri Bottas and the two Aston Martin drivers were also eliminated.

Verstappen set a blistering first time in Q3 but his lap was deleted for a turn-two track limit violation, leaving Sainz on the provisional pole. Despite challenges from Norris and Charles Leclerc, the Spaniard fended off his rivals and improved again on his final run, securing a sixth career pole.

Mexican Grand Prix qualifying results in full...

1. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

3. Lando Norris (McLaren)

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

5. George Russell (Mercedes)

6. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

7. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

8. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

9. Alex Albon (Williams)

10. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)

11. Yuki Tsunoda (VCARB)

12. Liam Lawson (VCARB)

13. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

14. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

15. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)

16. Franco Colapinto (Williams)

17. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

18. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

19. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

20. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)