MEXICO CITY — In a Formula 1 season that has largely been controlled by Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen, Ferrari teammates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz surprised on Saturday with a standout qualifying performance for the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Leclerc topped the timesheets with his 1-minute, 17.166-second lap at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Sainz was close behind at 1 minute, 17.233 seconds. The teammates will start Sunday’s grand prix on the front row.Â
Meanwhile, reigning Formula 1 champion Verstappen qualified third with a 1-minute, 17.263-second lap.Â
“I tried to do the best I could but it just didn’t come together today. There’s very low grip around this circuit because of the altitude, so it’s not as easy to push as hard as I usually would in qualifying,” Verstappen said. “Nevertheless, we were still close to the Ferraris and it’s a long race tomorrow.”
AlphaTauri’s Daniel Ricciardo and Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Perez will start fourth and fifth in Sunday’s race.Â
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