We were all expecting a front row lockout, but not this one! Mercedes have been floundering way behind Red Bull all weekend, so such a huge turn around will delight Toto Wolff and his team. The perfect way to bounce back from the disappointment of the USGP<\/a>.<\/p>\n The front row is a Mercedes lockout, with Red Bull locking out the second row with Max Verstappen ahead of home favourite Sergio Perez.<\/p>\n Q1 got red flagged with just over ten minutes of the session remaining, Lance Stroll hit the barriers, which needed to be rebuilt. The Canadian hadn\u2019t set a lap time, so will start from the back end of the grid.<\/p>\n His car was in pieces, and the Aston Martin mechanics have a huge job on overnight to make sure the car is ready for tomorrow.<\/p>\n After dominating FP2 and FP3, it looked to be more of the same for Max Verstappen, until Valtteri Bottas jumped him on the buzzer to top the Q1 timesheets; promising signs for the struggling Mercedes cars.<\/p>\n Lewis Hamilton continued to struggle in sector one, but still managed a solid lap to see him finish 6th<\/sup> in Q1. He can take confidence from his teammate’s pace, knowing it\u2019s there in the car.<\/p>\n Fernando Alonso, Nicholas Latifi, Mick Schumacher, Nikita Mazepin and of course Lance Stroll didn\u2019t make it out of the session.<\/p>\n No-one wants to start the race on the soft tyres, especially the front runners. Therefore, they looked to qualify on medium tyres to give them free choice in Sunday\u2019s race. The first runs in Q2 saw Lewis Hamilton much closer to Max Verstappen, as they occupied P1 and P2. The times being much closer on the medium tyres will be a relief for the Silver Arrows, who look to claw back at Red Bull\u2019s advantage.<\/p>\n On a second run, Lewis Hamilton set a quicker time than Max Verstappen by 0.009 seconds. Plenty of positives for the Mercs ahead of Sunday\u2019s race, considering they\u2019ll all be starting on the medium compound.<\/p>\n Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen, George Russell, Anotonio Giovinazzi and Esteban Ocon were the drivers that couldn\u2019t make it out of Q2.<\/p>\n After the first runs in Q3, it was a front row lockout, but not how you\u2019d expect. Valtteri Bottas became the first driver into the one minute fifteens, with Lewis Hamilton just behind him, then Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez behind them. It appeared that the Red Bull rear wing on Max Verstappen\u2019s car had tape in the corner, which is a worry for Christian Horner\u2019s team. They\u2019ll need that issue dealt with before Sunday\u2019s race.<\/p>\n Max Verstappen didn\u2019t miss out on a tow from Sergio Perez second time round. Perez went wide, but didn\u2019t impact on Verstappen\u2019s lap. He made an error himself later on, subsequently he was unable to improve.<\/p>\n Neither Mercs were able to improve either, but they won\u2019t care! It\u2019s their first front row lockout of the season. They\u2019ve managed it at a track, where they were expected to struggle and they had been behind all weekend.<\/p>\n Max Verstappen<\/a> reminded fans the weekend was far from over: \u201cQualifying didn\u2019t go our way but there\u2019s still a lot to fight for [on Sunday].\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Lewis Hamilton<\/a> was extremely \u2018proud\u2019 of his teammate: \u201cValtteri did an amazing job! He\u2019s been driving so well in the last few races. We didn\u2019t think we had the pace this weekend, so to lock out the front row is pretty special.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Valtteri Bottas<\/a> was delighted with his Q3 exploits: \u201cHonestly that first run in Q3 was one of my best laps. It\u2019s a good feeling.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Final Classification:<\/p>\n QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION:@MercedesAMGF1<\/a> in the box seat for Sunday #MexicoGP<\/a> \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfd #F1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/jE5Wefj1DX<\/a><\/p>\n — Formula 1 (@F1) November 6, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nLance Stroll Walks Away From Crash<\/h3>\n
Medium Middle Session<\/h3>\n
Valtteri Bottas on Pole for Mercedes Front Row Lockout<\/h3>\n
Top Three Qualifiers React<\/h3>\n
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