The Unexpected Rise of Ferrari: Front Row Lockout at the Mexican Grand Prix

And suddenly, The Ferraris came out of nowhere. Sainz entered Q3 almost whistling and just barely. But when the Spanish and Charles Leclerc They finished their first round in the last block, they had jumped to the top to the surprise even of the protagonists themselves. First Sainz and then the Monegasque, who scored a surprising 1.17.166 that had not been seen all weekend. Sainz, only 67 thousandths.

Verstappen came from behind, improving the times in each partial. But in yet another feature of an incomprehensible session, The Dutchman failed in the last sector and finished one tenth behind Leclerc. Ferrari had achieved the first row of the grid at the Mexican Grand Prix. “What a great surprise,” the Monegasque told his team on the radio. They didn’t even believe it on the pit wall.

“It was very strange. All weekend I struggled to get a lap, and the first good one was the first in Q3. Suddenly, we were first at that moment, and then Charles he beat me by less than a tenth“, a surprised Sainz also confessed. None of Max Verstappen’s rivals had been able to beat the Dutchman until that key moment, but the two Italian cars instantly found almost a second compared to the weekend average. What had happened?

The perfect window

Hermanos Rodríguez offers particular challenges that drive engineers crazy. The height (2220), the lowest density of air, the reduction of aerodynamic load that represents and temperature play a differentiating role compared to other circuits. Add to this an asphalt that takes rubber from the tire very effectively and modifies grip very quickly.

What happened in Q3 stunned even the members of Ferrari themselves, and is extremely reminiscent of the incredible sensitivity to different factors of a Formula 1. At the beginning of Q3, the temperature dropped slightly and suddenly the SF23 entered a perfect performance window on the soft tires. Leclerc found 8 tenths, and Sainz almost a second. How to get thread into the buttonhole at the perfect moment. First line of grill.

Not even Fred Vasseur himself believed it. “Having two new sets for Q3 was an advantage. Charles and Carlos managed to fine-tune the lap, it was crucial to understand how much you could push in the first sector without arriving with overheated tires in the final stretch. This was probably the differencewhich was also important to fine-tune the approach towards Turn 1.”

The Frenchman was referring to the preparation of the tire prior to the thrown turn, and then this one, which the pilots managed masterfully. But environmental conditions contributed to the rest. Sainz later explained that he had practically not touched his car. Verstappen, however, he lost pole in the last sector, with his tire more worn out.

“It’s very difficult. The grip here is very low because of the altitude. When you try to push a little harder, it just goes away,” declared Verstappen. “I think that was what happened in the third sector, we suffered a little more than I would have liked.”

Will there also be a miracle in the race?

“It’s hard to understand how you can find half a second and then go half a second slower on the next lap. It’s very difficult with the tyres, the sensations with the car are very strange on this circuit, but we managed to make a good lap when it was necessary“, explained a surprised Sainz. “This is not the first pole we have achieved this year, but on all the other occasions in which we were competitive, already in Q1 we knew the potential to be able to fight for pole. Today, until Q3 I really had no idea, but in the last session I managed to put it all together and it was time to return. So it was a pleasant surprise,” he remarked.

For the grand prix, and with the references from the long runs on Friday, Ferrari does not expect a similar miracle. “Well, clearly We are not as strong with a lot of fuel as we are with a little.“Our car benefits a lot from that new tire, that soft tip on the rear tire,” Sainz revealed at the press conference, still surprised by the whims of such sophisticated cars.

Even more so in the case of SF23, so fast sometimes on a Saturday, so lazy on Sunday. Hence his prudence and certain disbelief in the face of a possible victory. “Let’s see what we can do in the race to keep those tires alive, to keep that Red Bull behind, because having two cars in front is a good advantage.”

But Leclerc pointed out a fact, also mentioned by Fernando Alonso, that could be a drag on the Spaniard’s comeback (he starts thirteenth), but perhaps an advantage for the two Ferraris. “It’s a very difficult race here. Anything can happen, especially with the cooling. Any car behind will have to manage, which can work in our favor. But for this we need to start well,” he said.

“Here, It is always difficult to maintain that position in the first corner, but we’ve had pretty good outings this year. So I am sure that we will be able to maintain that first place in the first corner and then we will try to do our best race,” the driver concluded. Sainz comes out next to him. Miracles may also exist on Sunday for Ferrari.

And suddenly, The Ferraris came out of nowhere. Sainz entered Q3 almost whistling and just barely. But when the Spanish and Charles Leclerc They finished their first round in the last block, they had jumped to the top to the surprise even of the protagonists themselves. First Sainz and then the Monegasque, who scored a surprising 1.17.166 that had not been seen all weekend. Sainz, only 67 thousandths.