Mexico (AFP)
Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull) will start in pole position for the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday after beating the Ferrari cars of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel in qualifying on Saturday.
This session was marked by the exit of the Finnish Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) in the last seconds, which embarrassed some drivers in the search for a better time.
Max Verstappen has already won the last two editions of the Mexican GP in 2017 and 2018.
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), qualified 4th Saturday, can be crowned world champion for the 6th time if he manages to score 14 points more than Bottas at the end of this race.
"The Ferrari are very fast in a straight line but we managed to beat them," said Verstappen, currently 4th in the world championship tie with Charles Leclerc.
"The track is very slippery and it is very difficult to get the tires working properly," he added, adding that Bottas's accident did not force him to lift his foot.
Charles Leclerc stressed that "Max was too fast for us today", saying "a little surprised" by the performance of Verstappen and Red Bull.
© 2019 AFP