TWO POLE LAPS FROM SMOOTH OPERATOR CARLOS

It was a memorable qualifying session for Scuderia Ferrari HP, with Carlos Sainz clinching pole, his first of the season, the sixth of his career, which puts him alongside two world champions, Juan Manuel Fangio and Phil Hill on the Ferrari all-time list. The Scuderia will be the only team to have both its drivers on the front two rows of the grid when the race starts at 14.00 (21.00 CET) as Charles Leclerc will start from fourth, keen to make up places at the start. This was the Scuderia’s 253^rd Formula 1 pole position and in 2024, it is the first team to have secured the number one grid slot with both its drivers. Today’s result was down to a majestic performance from Carlos, both of whose Q3 lap times were good enough to take pole and he was also the only driver to break the 1’16” barrier. It’s well known that pole position at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit is no guarantee of getting to turn 1 in the lead, given that it is a very long run down to the first corner, but it is still the safest place from which to start. Furthermore, with both its drivers on the front two rows, the team can prepare in detail for the start with the aim of making the most of the opening lap to create the conditions that will allow the drivers to maximise the potential of the SF-24 which seems to have a strong long run pace.

Q3. Partly because this is a short lap, qualifying was very tight with plenty of drama. In Q1, Carlos and Charles, along with several of their rivals, tried to make the cut on Medium tyres to try and have four sets of Softs for Q2 and Q3, but the gaps were so tight that this proved impossible for everyone. The teams all had to fit a set of the softest compound tyres to get through to Q2, Scuderia Ferrari HP being the only top team to do this with both its drivers. In Q2, Carlos and Charles did their first run on the Softs used in Q1 to assess the track and then gave it their all on new sets. It all went to plan and they sailed through to Q3, when they both had two sets of new Soft tyres available. Carlos’ first timed lap was fantastic, an excellent 1’16”055, to secure provisional pole. On the second run, both Scuderia drivers improved: Carlos excelled himself and was the only driver to break the 1’16” barrier to take a very well deserved pole in 1’15”946. Charles was provisionally second in 1’16”265, but was then outpaced by Max Verstappen (1’16”171) by less than a tenth and by Lando Norris by just five thousandths (1’16”260), and so had to settle for fourth. 

A long tough race. For tomorrow’s 71 lap race, it will be important to prepare for all possible eventualities: as we have seen over the past two days, the barriers are close and there’s a high risk of the Safety Car being called on. As always here, ensuring reliability is vital given that the rarified air brings the risk of overheating the car, so that being able to run in clean air can make a difference. Therefore, tonight’s strategy planning must also take these factors into account.

 

Carlos Sainz #55

I’m super happy today! I couldn’t imagine a better qualifying here in Mexico. We have done a great job balancing the car and I enjoyed very much the last two laps of Q3, pushing in every corner and keeping it as clean as possible. I feel we have improved our tyre understanding and preparation and this helps to consistently drive to the limit.
We are the only team with both cars on the front two rows of the grid so the main priority for the race will be to score the maximum haul of points for the Constructors’ Championship. Even though it’s not easy at this track, I will do everything to defend pole at the start and we will give all we’ve got to bring home another win!.

Charles Leclerc #16

I didn’t have the feeling I wanted in the car, neither in FP3 nor in qualifying, and P4 was the best I could do today.
With my driving style, I struggle a bit more on low grip tracks such as this one, but I’m confident that with the race pace I had yesterday, I can push in tomorrow’s race. I will need a really good start to challenge for the win, and starting from P4 will not make that easy, but I will give it my all.

Fred Vasseur - Team Principal Scuderia Ferrari HP

The whole team is in a dynamic mood, feeling plenty of energy after Austin and here we were much more focussed on tomorrow as we did not expect to get pole, so this is a nice and unexpected surprise. Carlos did a very good job with his two laps being good enough for pole and even though Charles was not very happy with his lap, he is just a couple of thousandths behind Lando (Norris).He also has done a good job, especially considering he didn’t try the Softs before this morning’s FP3.
It's very important that we are in the fight tomorrow with both cars: it’s a very long run down to Turn 1 after the start and it’s not a given that you keep your grid position, so here in Mexico anything can happen and having both cars fighting at the front offers us more opportunities. It will be a very long race and the most important thing will be to have good pace on the long stint, run a good strategy and execute the race perfectly.