Carlos Sainz Jr. storms to the front in F1 qualifying at the Mexico City Grand Prix

Ferrari is another step closer to turning the Constructors’ Championship race into a three-way fight with McLaren and Red Bull

Last week in Austin, Ferrari announced to the Formula 1 world that the two-way fight for the Constructors Championship we were expecting between McLaren and Red Bull needed to make room for one more team. Charles Leclerc’s win in the United States Grand Prix, with a P2 from teammate Carlos Sainz Jr., brought Ferrari to within single digits of Red Bull for second in the Constructors’ Championship, and within striking distance of McLaren at the front of the field.

Saturday in Mexico City brought more good news for the Scuderia.

Sainz wrestled pole position away from rivals Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, and away from Leclerc, to capture his first P1 start in a Grand Prix this season. With Leclerc set to start fourth, that gives Ferrari a pair of drivers on the front two rows and, as we will see in a moment, it gives the team a chance to make another huge jump in the Constructors’ Championship on Sunday.

“Very happy and yeah, a great couple of laps,” said Sainz trackside to James Hinchcliffe. “I just put two really solid laps in in Q3.”

Sainz noted that his comfort level inside the SF-24 has taken a step forward in recent weeks.

“Definitely since Austin, we’ve done on my side a step up,” added Sainz. “Seems like we are going in the right direction. Obviously, looking forward to finish the job tomorrow but at least the pole position of today, I’ll take it because it shows progress.”

How important is tomorrow as a team for Ferrari, given both Sainz and Leclerc are starting inside the top ten? The driver noted that the Scuderia have a massive opportunity in front of them when the lights go out in Mexico City Sunday.

“For sure it is our number one priority to bring both cars home, but especially if you win the race those extra seven, eight points are important when you win, for the Constructors’,” added Sainz. “Hopefully our race pace should be good enough to win it.”

Sainz and Ferrari are the big winners on Saturday, but will that carry over to Sunday?

Time will tell, but given what we saw Saturday, and what we saw last week in Austin, scarlet could be the main color Sunday in Mexico City.

Here are the full qualifying results, as well as some more winners and losers from qualifying at the F1 Mexico City Grand Prix.

Winner: Max Verstappen

For a moment, it looked as if Max Verstappen was going to run away with pole position.

Verstappen’s first lap in Q3 was a shot across the bow of the entire field, a thunderous lap that put him to the top of the timing sheets, with a big gap from his time to the time of Lando Norris in P2.

But then, that time was gone, as Verstappen’s lap was deleted for exceeding track limits. That put the Red Bull driver, who had already seen Sergio Pérez eliminated in Q1, under a tremendous amount of pressure to deliver a lap when he, and his team, needed it most.

The champion then did what champions do, charging through the Mexico City streets to put his RB20 on the front row alongside Sainz. While he did not capture pole position, Verstappen did split the Ferraris and will start just ahead of Norris, who qualified third.

“Quite a lot [of pressure],” said Verstappen about his final run of qualifying. “Very happy to be on the front row. I honestly didn’t expect that to be possible.

“It’s probably one of the hardest tracks to get right,” added Verstappen. “It’s one of the tricky ones on the calendar.”

Thanks to his thunderous lap, Verstappen has a chance to pull a few points further ahead of Norris in the Drivers’ Championship, and perhaps pull Red Bull a few points closer to McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship fight.

Ferrari, as well as Norris himself, might have the final say however.

Loser: Sergio Pérez

The hometown hero arrived in Mexico City again under pressure to deliver in his home race. Sergio Pérez conceded when speaking with the official F1 channel earlier this week that he was in the middle of a “terrible season.” Sunday after the United States Grand Prix Red Bull boss Christian Horner noted that the team needed improved performance from Pérez, and he hoped that the hometown fans in Mexico City would power him to a quality performance.

That did not happen on Saturday.

Despite roars echoing throughout the circuit every time Pérez took to the track in his #11 RB20, the best Pérez could do was P18, as he was eliminated in Q1.

This means that yet again, Red Bull will have just Max Verstappen fighting at the front as the team hopes to stay in striking range of McLaren at the top of the Constructors’ Championship standings.

Winner: Alexander Albon

The growing legend of Franco Colapinto at Williams has come at a cost for the team.

Some growing pressure on Alexander Albon.

When Albon collided with Oliver Bearman in Q1 on Friday, it brought an early end to his first day of practice and drew questions on social media regarding whether Colapinto’s success was starting to get to Albon a bit, and whether the veteran driver was feeling the heat.

Consider that question answered, at least for the moment.

Albon charged into Q3 for the first time since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and when the lights go out on Sunday, Albon will start ninth, in position to deliver some much-needed points for Williams, and himself.

Loser: Oscar Piastri

As noted above, Pérez’s elimination in Q1 means that Verstappen will be the only Red Bull driver fighting at the front after the lights go out on Sunday.

Similarly, Lando Norris will be the only McLaren driver fighting at the front.

Oscar Piastri was a shocking elimination in Q1, marking the first time that the Australian driver ailed to reach Q3 in the Grand Prix qualifying format this season. Piastri had a lap deleted for exceeding track limits early in the first segment of qualifying and struggled to find the lap time he needed as the seconds ticked down in Q1. He finished in P17 and will need to make up a lot of ground tomorrow.

Winner: Pierre Gasly

For the second straight race, Alpine saw a driver advance into Q3.

For the second straight race, that driver was Pierre Gasly.

In Austin during the United States Grand Prix Gasly charged into Q3, topping the timing sheets at moments in both Q1 and Q2. While he ultimately qualified seventh, starting sixth after George Russell was required to start from the pit lane after his hard shunt in Q3 in Austin, it was a sign that recent upgrades to the A524 were paying dividends.

Gasly’s performance Saturday in Mexico City is yet more evidence of that fact.

Similar to Austin, Gasly charged into Q3, with his name near the top of the timing sheets at various moments in both Q1 and Q2. As Jolyon Palmer noted on F1TV, Gasly is showing a “bit of form” in recent weeks, with the A524 starting to show some improved one-lap pace with the recent upgrades. Gasly qualified eighth on Saturday, and will start ahead of Alexander Albon, giving Alpine a chance to inch closer to Williams as those two teams fight for eighth in the Constructors’ Championship.

Losers: VCARB

With ten seconds left in Q2, Yuki Tsunoda found the barrier on the entry into the stadium section at Turn 12, and his lockup brought out the red flag.

The timing was brutal for the Visa Cash App RB F1 Team.

Tsunoda’s shunt came just seconds after both Haas drivers — Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg — had stormed into the top ten and dropped both Tsunoda and Liam Lawson into the elimination zone.

With the red flag flying with just seconds remaining in Q2, it ended the session, and the timing not only meant that both VCARB drivers were eliminated in Q2, but it meant that their main rivals at Haas for sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship will be ahead of them, and starting inside the points, when the lights go out on Sunday.

“It was a tidy lap, we should have easily been through, it’s frustrating,” said Lawson to the official F1 channel following Q2. “It will be like this every weekend, similar to Austin. All these tracks are very new. It’s been good having three practice sessions ... we’re in a good place to fight for points tomorrow.”

Still, the end of Q2 was just a brutal break for VCARB as the season reached a critical moment.

Winners: Haas

While it was a tough day for VCARB, it was another strong day for their rivals in the fight for sixth in the Constructors’ Championship, as both Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg charged into Q3. Magnussen is set to start seventh on Sunday, while Hülkenberg rounded out Q3 with the tenth-best time in the session.

Haas arrived in Texas for last week’s United States Grand Prix sitting seventh in the Constructors’ Championship standings, three points behind VCARB in that fight for sixth. But thanks to a double-points result in last week’s F1 Sprint Race, and an eighth-place finish from Hülkenberg in the main event, Haas left Texas with a two-point lead over VCARB.

Now with both drivers starting inside the points — and both Tsunoda and Lawson behind them — Haas is in a position to extend that lead on Sunday.