Sergio Pérez is expecting a three-way tussle for pole position during Qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix on Saturday based on the performance of Scuderia Ferrari, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team and his Oracle Red Bull Racing team on Friday.
The Mexican, racing in front of his adoring fans at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez who cheer him wildly every time he passes them, was third quickest in the first session on Friday and fifth in the second, although the latter session was dedicated to a Pirelli tyre test so times were not as representative.
Pérez says Mercedes and Ferrari are both looking strong, so Qualifying on Saturday could end up being a three-team, six-driver shootout for pole position.
“It was a tricky day to get a read on things, as is typical in Mexico with the altitude, everything is floating around,” said Pérez. “It is very easy to make mistakes in these conditions so overall I think we had an ok day.
“I think we got up to speed fairly quickly and got into a rhythm so it should hopefully be quite straight forward tomorrow. The tyre test means you basically lose FP2 but that’s how it is for everyone and in FP1 we got a good pace and we seemed to be competitive.
“Ferrari look strong, as do Mercedes, so it is going to be a tough battle tomorrow in qualifying.”
“Let’s see what we can do come qualifying tomorrow” – Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen was forced to settle for second best to his team-mate in both sessions on Friday, and even suffered a small spin in the opening running.
The Dutchman, who has already clinched the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship by winning thirteen of the nineteen races so far this year, was fourth in the first session and sixth in the second on Friday, but he is still confident going into the rest of the weekend he can be at the front of the pack.
“I had a little spin this morning in FP1, as soon as I came off the track it felt like ice and I was drifting left and right,” Verstappen said. “On the soft tyres, everything felt okay but we only had one run on them.
“In FP2 we had to do the Pirelli tyre test, so it makes it a little bit more difficult as there are a lot of unknowns again, similar to last weekend. We have very little information, but from what we tried; everything was working okay.
“Let’s see what we can do come qualifying tomorrow.”
Max Verstappen was second-best to his team-mate in both sessions on Friday – Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images