Formula 1- Mexican GP LIVE: Bottas tops qualifying, stun Red Bull

Formula 1: Mexican GP LIVE: Max Verstappen fastest in practice – Formula One season championship leader Max Verstappen posted the fastest time of Friday’s second practice at the Mexican Grand Prix. Verstappen’s Red Bull was more than half a second ahead of title rival Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes. The British ace even trailed Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, who was more than 0.4 seconds behind practice leader in the high altitude and thin air of Mexico City’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez was on Hamilton’s rear wheel in fourth after recovering from a crash in Friday’s first practice. Follow Insidesport.in for all Formula 1 and Mexican GP LIVE updates.

Also read: Formula 1 US GP: Max Verstappen edges Lewis Hamilton to seal victory and extend championship lead

Formula 1: Mexican GP LIVE: Valterri Bottas takes pole as Mercedes stun Red Bull in Qualifying – Follow LIVE Updates

Mexican GP Qualifying: Valtteri Bottas soaked up the pressure to take a sensational pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix, as his Mercedes team upset the odds and outpaced favourites, Red Bull. The Finn was positioned on track to give championship contender and teammate Lewis Hamilton a tow on both runs in qualifying, but it was the Alfa Romeo-bound driver who was the fastest Silver Arrows car on Saturday.

“Bottas pumped in the quickest time on the first runs, with Hamilton 0.145s adrift and the Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez struggling with the rears and unable to mount the challenge their practice pace had suggested,” stated an official release.

On the second run, home favourite Perez ran wide when he got distracted by AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda running off in front of him, which put him out of pole contention to the dismay of tens of thousands of fans who only have eyes for him.

His teammate Verstappen wasn’t far behind and had to back off slightly as a result of the Mexican’s off, but the reality is he was unlikely to have had the pace to challenge for pole anyway. It meant Mercedes secured an unlikely front-row lockout, the first time they have achieved the feat in Mexico since 2016, while Bottas took his third pole of the season and second in three races.

Verstappen ended up third – in what is only the sixth time this season that he has not been on the front row in 2021 – alongside Perez, with Pierre Gasly continuing his fine run of form in qualifying with a superb fifth, as Carlos Sainz recovered from an engine issue early on to take sixth.

Formula 1: Mexican GP LIVE: Valterri Bottas takes pole as Mercedes stun Red Bull in Qualifying – Follow LIVE Updates

“Honestly that first run in Q3 was one of my best laps,” said Valtteri Bottas, while Hamilton added: “I really have no idea [what changed]. I’m just as shocked as everyone but we’ll still take it.”

“Of course third is not amazing but I think it’s still better than starting second,” said Verstappen. The Red Bull ace leads Hamilton by 12 points heading into the final five races of the season.

Formula 1: Mexican GP Qualifying Results

POS	NO	DRIVER	CAR	Q1	Q2	Q3	LAPS
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	MERCEDES	1:16.727	1:16.864	1:15.875	23
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	MERCEDES	1:17.207	1:16.474	1:16.020	22
3	33	Max Verstappen	RED BULL RACING	1:16.788	1:16.483	1:16.225	18
4	11	Sergio Perez	RED BULL RACING	1:17.003	1:17.055	1:16.342	18
5	10	Pierre Gasly	ALPHATAURI	1:16.908	1:16.955	1:16.456	22
6	55	Carlos Sainz	FERRARI	1:17.517	1:17.248	1:16.761	23
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	MCLAREN	1:17.719	1:17.092	1:16.763	17
8	16	Charles Leclerc	FERRARI	1:16.748	1:17.034	1:16.837	22
9	22	Yuki Tsunoda	ALPHATAURI	1:17.330	1:16.701	1:17.158	19
10	4	Lando Norris	MCLAREN	1:17.569	1:17.473	1:36.830	19
11	5	Sebastian Vettel	ASTON MARTIN	1:17.502	1:17.746		16
12	7	Kimi Räikkönen	ALFA ROMEO RACING	1:17.606	1:17.958		18
13	63	George Russell	WILLIAMS	1:17.958	1:18.172		13
14	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	ALFA ROMEO RACING	1:17.897	1:18.290		15
15	31	Esteban Ocon	ALPINE	1:18.126	1:18.405		13
16	14	Fernando Alonso	ALPINE	1:18.452			7
17	6	Nicholas Latifi	WILLIAMS	1:18.756			8
18	47	Mick Schumacher	HAAS	1:18.858			9
19	9	Nikita Mazepin	HAAS	1:19.303			9
20	18	Lance Stroll	ASTON MARTIN	1:20.873			3

Also Read: Formula 1: No Chinese GP on F1’s 23-race long calendar for 2022, absent for third consecutive year

Formula 1: Mexican GP LIVE: Valterri Bottas takes pole as Mercedes stun Red Bull in Qualifying – Follow LIVE Updates

Formula 1: Mexican Grand Prix Schedule

Nov 5: Free Practice 1 (1. Bottas, 2. Hamilton, 3. Verstappen)

Nov 6: Free Practice 2 (1. Verstappen, 2. Bottas, 3. Hamilton)

Nov 6: Free Practice 3 – (1. Perez, 2. Verstappen, 3. Hamilton)

Nov 7: Qualifying – (1. Bottas, 2. Hamilton, 3. Verstappen)

Nov 8: Race – 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM IST

Formula 1: Mexican GP live streaming details

Stars Sports Network are the official broadcasters for the Formula 1 races in India. The qualifying and main race will be aired on live television on the Star Sports Select Channels. Formula 1 Live streaming will be available on the Disney+Hotstar app.

Formula 1