The strong clash of Valtteri Bottas against the wall, in the Parabolic curve, just before heading towards the goal, left the entire Mercedes team in disgust. At the decisive moment, the only driver capable of postponing Lewis Hamilton's sixth title, was clamorous to be relegated to sixth place on the grid, two behind the World Cup leader, also delayed with respect to Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel The pole (1: 14.758) of the Dutchman, winner of the last two years in Mexico, was questioned by not raising his foot after the double yellow flag waved by the commissioners after the Finnish accident.

Oblivious to these contingencies, Verstappen celebrated the second pole of his career in a big way, while Christian Horner, head of Red Bull, whistled becoming clueless. Neither Michael Masi, career director, nor the four commissioners, with the Spanish Silvia Bellot in front, offered signs of life. Another weekend where the vaunted measures to maximize security are questioned. Another weekend to miss Charlie Whiting, who died last March, who has not yet found a successor to live up to.

In any case, the dominance of Verstappen, followed by two tenths by the Ferrari, contrasted with the difficulties of Mercedes, who can only oppose its traditional expertise in tire management. The degradation in the Rodríguez Brothers Autodrome multiplies the chips (graining) in the rubbers. Carlos Sainz is also very aware of this, who will start seventh after another convincing classification.

"I've been feeling great all weekend," McLaren leader endorsed after knocking out his teammate, Lando Norris, three tenths slower. Even better than all those virtues exhibited throughout the season, the ambition of the people of Woking, who risked as do the very favorites to win, seems to be.

It was in Q2, when he tested with intermediate tires looking for a more aggressive strategy for the start of the race. "We started to think like a big team, but we still have a tenth or two left," admitted the Spaniard, capped by a Toro Rosso at the worst time. This forced him to the immediate rectification. However, once again, Carlos responded in critical moments with his usual sufficiency (1: 16,267), rolling only five hundredths slower than Leclerc.

The firmness of the McLaren, consolidated since Friday, contrasted with a new Renault debacle, with its two cars out of the improvement. The shout of rage of Daniel Ricciardo, author of the pole a year ago, must still resound in the ears of Cyril Abiteboul, head of the French team.

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  • sports
  • Formula 1
  • Mercedes GP
  • Valtteri Bottas
  • Sebastian Vettel
  • Max Verstappen
  • Lewis Hamilton
  • Daniel Ricciardo

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