Qualifying lived up to Mexico City’s promise of an exciting weekend. Since the opening few minutes of qualifying were devoted to warm-up laps, there was an expectation of a lengthy run with two or three warm-up laps to raise the temperature in the Hankook tires.
Group A
With a lap time of 1:18.51, Dennis took the lead, followed closely by Barnard at 1:18.63. Eriksson briefly claimed the lead at 1:13.18. The pressure on drivers to record a strong push lap rose with three minutes left. Cassidy’s lap time was deleted, preventing him from participating in the duels, and Barnard’s pit stop saw his front left and right tires switched after a few warm-up laps.
Dennis regained the lead with a time of1:06.49 as the clock was running out, followed by Müller, Mortara, and Da Costa seconds behind. However, Barnard’s final lap puts him in P3 and eliminates Da Costa from the duels. Moving onto the duels—Dennis, Müller, Barnard, and Mortara.
Group B
With a time of 1:13.40, Günther led group B, followed closely by Ticktum and Marti. But with five minutes left, Günther pitted using Barnard’s strategy. Wehrlein secured strong push laps, but Di Grassi, seeing his chance, took the lead with a time of 1:13.11, only a few seconds ahead of Gunther. Wehrlein with a time of 1:06.81, but with one minute remaining, Buemi took the lead with 1:06.32, followed by Ticktum with 1:06.53. Wrapping up this session, we saw Buemi, Ticktum, Evans, and Rowland move onto the duels.
Head-to-Head Duels
Barnard vs. Müller-Barnard started as leader with a lap time of 1:05.07 to Müller’s 1:05.21, and it’s with that strong lap and small mistake that Barnard takes it.
Mortara vs. Dennis—Mortara set a lap time of 1:05.14; as Dennis struggled with grip on his front right, he landed a 1:05.23; Mortara secured his position in the semi-finals.
Evans vs. Ticktum—Evans took the lead with 1:05.14 keeping his head down and lap clean; on the other hand, Ticktum had a rough lap and close call with the wall, finishing with a lap of 1:05.22; Evans claimed victory in his duel.
Rowland vs. Buemi—Rowland set a time of 1:05.24 going a bit deep at the start; Buemi, closing the gap in the last sectors, secured his win with a lap time of 1:05.11.
Semi-Finals
Mortara vs. Barnard—Mortara led the semifinals with Barnard close behind with 1:05.07 but Barnard managed a close call for track limits, which helped secure his win with a lap time of 1:05.04.
Evans vs. Buemi—In the last semifinal, Evans led with a 1:05.31, but a snap of oversteer secured his loss to Buemi with a lap time of 1:05.16. The final showdown between Buemi and Barnard had many on the edge of their seats with strong paces; it was expected to be a close call.
Final
Buemi vs. Barnard—Buemi set a pace of 1:05:24 with one lap to begin the final duel. Barnard secured pole position with a faster time of 1:05.13. However, the celebrations were premature because Barnard’s pole position and lap time were erased due to track limits in turn 16 after his final lap was reviewed. As of right now, Buemi is our pole sitter. With the race scheduled for later today, all eyes are on the front row; stay tuned for the thrilling results.