Mexico City Grand Prix: Qualifying Recap

Magnussen and Hulkenberg planted both VF-24s in the top 10 throughout the opening two rounds of knockout qualifying. Magnussen banked a 1:17.125 for P5 in Q1, with Hulkenberg progressing in P8 thanks to a 1:17.186 – both on new Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires. Utilizing two more brand new sets of the soft compound in Q2, Hulkenberg led the way into Q3 with a P8 lap of 1:16.995, Magnussen directly behind his teammate recording a 1:17.003 to advance.

Both cars ran an opening lap on used softs to start Q3, with one final set of fresh rubber saved for their last timed attack. Magnussen duly posted his best qualifying result of the season on the new tires, the Dane clinching P7 with a storming 1:16.886 hot lap. Hulkenberg clocked a 1:17.365 to secured P10 on the grid for Sunday’s 71-lap race.

Scuderia Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz topped the session – the Spaniard sealing pole position with a 1:15.946 lap ahead of title protagonists – Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris.



Nico Hulkenberg:

“It’s been a bit of a struggle for me to be honest, all weekend long. I’m not getting off on the right foot with the car and the laps aren’t coming as I’d like, and how they should. I’m struggling to find rhythm and harmony; some laps are good, some laps are not good, and in Q3 unfortunately I couldn’t find it. Kevin did a great job in P7, so two cars in the top 10 is good and we’ve got good top speed at a track where overtaking is difficult, so it’s all to play for tomorrow.”

Kevin Magnussen:

“Two cars again in the top 10, and I think I’m ahead of the people we want to be ahead of, so that’s a good day for us. This track is very dirty on the inside of the line, so it’s another little bonus to be starting on the lefthand side. It should be a good starting point for a top 10 finish. We obviously want to finish as high up as we can but we’re really in the fight with RB and to some extent Williams and Alpine as well, so we need to finish ahead of them and in the points tomorrow.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“That was one intense qualifying session. I’m happy we got both cars into Q3 and Kevin’s lap on the new tire was really good. It’s a difficult track to get a lap together, and he managed that, and being ahead of both Gasly and Albon is huge. I’m really happy for Kevin that he finally got the result he deserved. Nico was doing so well as well, doing pretty much the same lap time as Kevin up until Turn 12. Still P10 ahead of RB as well is very good, and we’ll go for double points tomorrow.” 

Today's Data:

Event: Qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix – Saturday October 26
Location: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City
Layout: 4.304-kilometer (2.674-mile), 17-turn circuit 
Weather: Sunny
Air Temps: 22 degrees Celsius (71.6 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 44 degrees Celsius (111.2 degrees Fahrenheit)
Team Result: Magnussen qualified 7th, Hulkenberg qualified 10th

Free Practice 3 (FP3) Rundown:

Magnussen: 9th overall (1:17.474), 19 laps 
Hulkenberg: 16th overall (1:17.819), 20 laps
Fastest: Oscar Piastri of McLaren (1:16.492)

Q1 Qualifying: 18-mins with all Drivers – Top 15 Advance to Q2

Magnussen: 5th overall (1:17.125) – Advanced to Q2
Hulkenberg: 8th overall (1:17.186) – Advanced to Q2
Fastest: Lando Norris of McLaren (1:16.505)

Q2 Qualifying: 15-mins – Top 10 Advance to Q3

Hulkenberg: 8th overall (1:16.995) – Advanced to Q3 
Magnussen: 9th overall (1:17.003) – Advanced to Q3
Fastest: Lando Norris of McLaren (1:16.301)

Q3 Qualifying: 12-mins – Top 10 Drivers

Magnussen: 7th overall (1:16.886) 
Hulkenberg: 10th overall (1:17.365) 
Pole: Carlos Sainz of Scuderia Ferrari (1:15.946)