2021 Mexican GP Qualifying Session Result: Bottas claims pole at Red Bull Racing stronghold 

Valtteri Bottas claimed pole position for the 2021 Mexican Grand Prix in an anti-climactic qualifying session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit. The Finn outpaced his team-mate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen, who clinched second and third position on the grid respectively.

An underwhelming performance by the Red Bull Racing drivers in the final session of qualifying at a favored circuit cost them a potential front-row lockout. The scales tipped in favor of the Mercedes drivers instead who claimed the front row of the starting grid for the race.

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Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton secured a front-row lockout for Mercedes in the 2021 Mexican GP qualifying session

Bottas’ fastest lap, clocked at 1 minute 15.875 seconds, was 0.145 seconds quicker than Hamilton’s fastest and 0.350 seconds quicker than Verstappen’s. With the Dutchman leading the Drivers’ championship title, the grid position could go into the favor of Hamilton if all plays out well in the race.

Max Verstappen during the qualifying session ahead of the 2021 Mexican GP. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Mexican driver Sergio Perez, who dominated the final practice session earlier in the day, failed to deliver a result justifiable for the pace and form of the Red Bull Racing car on this circuit, qualifying fourth on the grid.

The Red Bull Racing driver ran wide as he tried to avoid Yuki Tsunoda, who had run wide ahead of him on his final attempt in the qualifying session.

Perez’s lap compromised Verstappen’s lap who was behind him and had to slow down in that sector on his final attempt of the qualifying session. While Perez and Verstappen were in the form of contending for pole position, Tsunoda’s spin had a domino effect on both their performances.

Alpha Tauri driver Pierre Gasly was classified fifth while his team-mate Tsunoda was ninth fastest in the qualifying session. The young Japanese was potentially targeting a top 5 position on the grid, and was capable of out-qualifying his team-mate at this circuit, had he not spun.

Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc clocked the sixth and eighth fastest lap of the qualifying session. Sandwiched between the two Ferraris was McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo, who qualified seventh.

McLaren driver Lando Norris finished tenth, completing the top 10 points scoring places on the grid. However, Tsunoda and Norris will drop further down as they have been reprimanded with grid penalties for switching to their fourth engines.

Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel was classified 11th, and his former Ferrari team-mate and Alfa Romeo driver Kimi Raikkonen was classified 12th fastest in the qualifying session. However, due to engine penalties, the former Ferrari duo will be promoted to ninth and tenth on the grid respectively.

Williams driver George Russell and Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi clocked the 13th and 14th fastest time in the qualifying session. However the Briton’s five place grid penalty for a gearbox change promoted the Italian to 11th place on the starting grid.

Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso qualified 15th and 16th fastest in the session. The Frenchman’s engine penalties pushed him further down the grid to 19th place. A combination of Ocon and Russell’s penalties promote Alonso to 12th on the starting grid, despite the Spaniard’s poor run in the qualifying session.

Wiliams’ driver Nicholas Latifi was classified 17th fastest, followed by Haas drivers Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, who were the 18th and 19th fastest in the session respectively. Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll failed to set a time after he spun into the barriers in the opening minutes of the first qualifying session.

Stroll’s off-track excursion resulted in the session being red-flagged for 20 minutes until the barriers were repaired. Luckily his qualifying performance, or failure to set a time in the session, did not have a significant impact, as he had grid penalties for an engine change which pushed him to the back of the grid anyway.

Nevertheless, the Mercedes front row lockout was a shock to Red Bull Racing team, as it was a twist of fate at a circuit where the latter were the favorites.

The current qualifying result is almost a similar scenario to Austin, where Mercedes were the favorites and Red Bull Racing were the underdogs.