Ferrari 'surprised’ by Red Bull’s pace in Mexico qualifying

Ferrari was left “a bit surprised” by Red Bull’s qualifying performance at Formula 1’s Mexican Grand Prix, according to Charles Leclerc. 

The Italian squad entered the weekend as hot favourites after claiming five consecutive pole positions on the bounce and setting the pace throughout practice, but Max Verstappen took a surprise pole with a stunning Q3 display. 

Verstappen outpaced Leclerc by 0.114s but was later stripped of his second career pole after failing to slow for yellow flags triggered by Valtteri Bottas’ big crash at the end of Q3. 

As a result, Leclerc will now start Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix from pole, with Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel alongside. Championship leader Lewis Hamilton has inherited third, with Verstappen dropping next to him on the second row in fourth. 

Asked if he was surprised by Red Bull’s qualifying performance, Leclerc replied: “Yes and no. 

“I think we expected them to be strong. After FP3 maybe we thought we had a shot for pole and then in qualifying they were too quick. So a bit surprised in qualifying.” 

Vettel, who claimed his second pole of the season last time out in Japan, conceded he failed to extract the maximum out of his qualifying performance, but the German remains confident about Ferrari’s race prospects. 

“I didn’t peak when it was time to peak in the sessions, especially in Q3,” Vettel admitted. 

“But other than that, the car felt good. I think there was more in hand. Obviously Max was a fair bit faster than us but I think with a clean lap we could have challenged him.

“I think we were very close,” he added. “Maybe closer than the stopwatch was telling. 

“So, I think it was a match and I’m quite confident it’s going to be a match as well. Obviously it depends on how the race unfolds but also I would not rule out Mercedes.”