By Janina Nuno Rios
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Red Bull’s Max Verstappen put himself on pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix on Saturday with his sights set on a record 14th Formula One victory of the season.
The Dutch 25-year-old, who secured his second world championship in Japan this month with four races to spare, lapped the high-speed Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez with a fastest time of one minute 17.775 seconds.
Mercedes’s George Russell joined him on the front row, qualifying 0.005 ahead of seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton, with Red Bull’s Mexican Sergio Perez the fourth fastest with the crowd roaring their support.
“It was a close one,” said Verstappen, who was 0.304 faster than Russell.
“To be on pole here is of course amazing. It’s a very long run to turn one so we do need a good start but anyway I think we have a quick car and that’s what’s most important.
“Checo (Perez) will be there tomorrow. I’m sure we have a quick race car. I hope it will be quite a fun race with a lot of action.”
The pole was the 19th of Verstappen’s career and he will be hoping to convert it into a fourth Mexican victory to take the outright record of most wins in a season from German greats Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.
Red Bull, fined $7 million on Friday for spending more than allowed last season, have won the last eight races and 15 of 19 so far.
Mercedes, who have yet to win this year, can take hope from history with the winner of the last two races at the high-altitude circuit coming from third on the grid.
The driver on pole has not won since 2016 and Hamilton won from third in 2019.
“The team deserved more today… I feel like it was our pole to have and it was just a terrible lap from my side, so I’m sort of kicking myself,” said Russell. “But no points for qualifying and excited to be back on the front row.
“I’ll be going for it for sure so let’s see what’s possible.”
Hamilton was fastest in the first two phases of qualifying but his first flying lap in the top-10 shootout was deleted, leaving the Briton with no time on the board going into the final effort.
“This is the best qualifying we’ve had all year, so it just shows that perseverance and never giving up is the way forward,” said Hamilton, winner of a record 103 races but enduring the longest drought of his career.
“The last lap wasn’t good enough…(but) I’m pretty happy with that position to start, it’s a long way down to turn one.”
(Writing by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Clare Fallon)
