Saturday in Mexico City was the ‘perfect day’ for Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard from Ferrari achieved a splendid pole position and emphasized in the press conference how “this is a very sweet moment, because it’s not common to do two such good laps on this circuit. It’s very slippery, and it’s very difficult to put a lap together. My two laps in Q3 were almost perfect. I’m very happy with this pole and with confirming our good form.” – the Ferrari man explained at the end of the qualifying session for the Mexican Grand Prix, which was held at the 4.304-kilometre Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.
The impressive fact, looking at the numbers, is that Carlos Sainz achieved the two best times of Q3: even without improving on his second attempt, he would still have started ahead of everyone. This progress in single-lap performance, the Spaniard noted, had already begun in America: “In Austin, my lap in Q3 was very positive, and I had high hopes for Mexico,” he revealed. “Today I managed to keep those hopes alive.”
However, the circuit named after the Rodriguez brothers is known for its very long starting straight, which tends to favor those chasing rather than the pole-sitter heading into Turn 1. “For tomorrow’s race, I’m relatively calm,” Carlos Sainz commented, “because we know our race pace is good. The hardest part will be staying ahead in Turn 1, as those starting behind can take advantage of the slipstream. But I think we’ll be able to defend ourselves and keep the lead; that will be my goal for tomorrow. The approach won’t be very different from other races; the important thing will be to get off to a good start and defend. I’ll fight for this very important objective tomorrow, and I have less to lose than my two closest rivals,” he concluded, referring to Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, contenders for the Drivers’ Championship.
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