Max second in Mexican qualifying thriller: "I really wanted pole"
Published on 28 October 2017 by Stefan Meens
Max Verstappen will start the Mexican Grand Prix from the front row after qualifying in second. In a titanic battle with Sebastian Vettel, the Dutchman missed out on his first pole position by a mere 0.096s. Lewis Hamilton will start third with Max’s team mate Daniel Ricciardo lining up in seventh.
"I'm annoyed, I gave it my all and really wanted pole position", said Max whilst being interviewed on the start/finish straight. "In Q3 I couldn't make the tyres work. Of course second is good, but not in the way it went. But at least we have a good starting position."
At the start of qualifying, we see Pierre Gasly join his team on the pit wall. After stopping on track early in FP3 when his Toro Rosso broke down, the Frenchman will not take part in qualifying and start at the back of the grid.
Joining the youngster at the tail end of the field are the Saubers of Marucs Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein as well as the two Haas of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean. All four strand in the first part of qualifying.
In Q2, Brendan Hartley is the first casualty. The New Zealander, contesting his second Grand Prix, reports a complete loss of power of his Scuderia Toro Rosso to the team. He is forced to park his car at track side, prompting a short yellow flag period.
Once the circuit is cleared, Max is the first driver to clock a flying lap. His 1:16.524 is the fastest lap of Q2, over three tenths quicker than Sebastian Vettel in second. The drivers outside the top ten, and therefore not making the cut to progress to Q3, are Hartley, both Williams drivers Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll as well as the two McLarens of Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne.
In the final part of qualifying, Max aborts his first flying lap and uses the final part of that lap to prepare for his next timed lap. The tactic pays dividend; his 1:16.574 is the fastest lap and grants the youngster a provisional pole position.
In the second set of flying laps, Max does not improve his lap time. Crucially, Sebastian Vettel does. He is the only driver to dip in the 1:16.4s to take his fiftieth pole position, bumping Max to second. Lewis Hamilton completes the top three. Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo will start the race from seventh.
Mexican Grand Prix - Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez - Saturday 28 October
QUALIFYING RESULTS 01 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:17.665 1:16.870 1:16.488 20 02 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:17.630 1:16.524 1:16.574 19 03 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:17.518 1:17.035 1:16.934 21 04 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:17.578 1:17.161 1:16.958 17 05 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:18.148 1:17.534 1:17.238 20 06 31 Esteban Ocon Force India Mercedes 1:18.336 1:17.827 1:17.437 19 07 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:18.208 1:17.631 1:17.447 15 08 27 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:18.322 1:17.792 1:17.466 17 09 55 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:18.405 1:17.753 1:17.794 17 10 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 1:18.020 1:17.868 1:17.807 19 11 19 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes 1:18.570 1:18.099 10 12 18 Lance Stroll Williams Mercedes 1:18.902 1:19.159 11 13 28 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1:18.683 12 14 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 1:17.710 9 15 2 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren Honda 1:18.578 13 16 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 1:19.176 9 17 94 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber Ferrari 1:19.333 9 18 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1:19.443 10 19 8 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 1:19.473 11
