2023 F1 Mexican GP Qualifying: Top 5 conclusions
Charles Leclerc secured pole position for the 2023 F1 Mexican GP in what was a surprising turn of events. Ferrari had not featured prominently at the top of the standings throughout the session but as soon as we had Q3, both Leclerc and his teammate Carlos Sainz shot to the top.
Max Verstappen was P3 and will start the race from the second row as the driver was unable to make improvements on his final lap. In what seems like an even bigger surprise, Daniel Ricciardo found himself in P4, out-qualifying Sergio Perez in Red Bull.
In a session where drivers admittedly struggled to put a lap together, what did we learn? Let's take a look.
2023 F1 Mexican GP Qualifying: What did we learn?
#1 McLaren will be majorly disappointed
If we go by what happened on Friday, McLaren was probably one of the teams worth keeping an eye on for the 2023 F1 Mexican GP. The team had a poor run with the car just falling away.
It started with FP3 which was off the mark for the team. It was followed by Qualifying where Lando Norris was eliminated in Q1. Even Oscar Piastri struggled to put together a perfect lap and was only P8.
Overall the weekend has turned into a damage limitation exercise for the team now.
#2 Ferrari surprises everyone, including itself
While team boss Fred Vasseur had a more assured look on his face when Ferrari secured the front row, the drivers admitted that the lap was a surprise. The team did not think it had the pace and throughout the 2023 F1 Mexican GP, you can see that the team didn't look as competitive.
How was Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz able to pull off their respective laps in Q3 is an interesting debate that could revolve around the team arguably turning the engine up for the lap in Q3.
Having said that, it's certainly good to see both Ferrari drivers capturing the front here as it shows that the car clearly has some potential.
#3 Max Verstappen will not be too upset
It is a fair argument to be made that starting in P3 for the 2023 F1 Mexican GP is arguably a better thing for Max Verstappen. The long run to the first corner and the abundant slipstream while starting the race in P3 have been a friend of the Dutchman in the past as well.
Most famously he used it in 2021 F1 Mexican GP to get ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. There will be a concern over Ferrari leapfrogging the Red Bull but more or less Verstappen finds himself in a favorable position.
#4 Daniel Ricciardo is a welcome surprise
Arguably the biggest winner of the qualifying session was Daniel Ricciardo. He has looked brilliant from the start of the race weekend and even in qualifying you could see he had something special in store.
This is the best run for AlphaTauri this season. He's placed the car on the second row and certainly solidified his case of being a potential replacement for Sergio Perez.
#5 Aston Martin has a shocker again
The 2023 F1 Mexican GP is the final proof that Aston Martin just doesn't have it anymore. The car cannot be considered a frontrunner whatsoever as both drivers could not make it to the top 10.
It's hard to have faith in this team anymore and hope that it could be a potential frontrunner even next season.