2022 Mexican Grand Prix Qualifying Predictions: Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez to lock out the front row

2022 Mexican Grand Prix Qualifying Predictions: Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez to lock out the front row

Charles Leclerc

After what seems like an eternity, the Mexican GP is finally here and will be taking place this weekend. Being one of the last few races that remain in the calendar before the season ends, it’s always a big possibility that the drivers or constructors title gets decided here itself. However, that wasn’t the case last year and it surely wasn’t this year. After an intense Friday at the track, pole position could be in anyone’s ball park.

With the Friday FP1 and FP2 sessions coming to an end, it was difficult to determine the pace as the times weren’t representative when it came to the car’s actual performance. With a long list of junior drivers taking part in FP1 and Pirelli tyre tests in FP2, it was obviously hard to determine who had the advantage coming into Saturday. However it seems like one team has got it all sorted for today’s bonanza at the Mexican GP qualifying session.

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With a lot of variables tricking us into not being able to determine the true pace of the car, we can take a look back into the history of the track and its previous winners. Lewis Hamilton won here in 2019 while Max Verstappen won here in 2021 after a brilliant double pass on both the Mercedes’s on turn 1. However this is about the qualifying session and not the race so it’s a different situation altogether.

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Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez lock out the front row at the Mexican GP qualifying

Sergio Perez(on the left) and Max Verstappen(on the right)
Sergio Perez(on the left) and Max Verstappen(on the right)

It’s will be no surprise if constructors champions Red Bull racing lock out the front row during the qualifiers session. This in turn won’t be due to their car this year. In turn, it will be due to their previous history at the track. High altitude has never been a problem for the bulls and this year won’t be any different. However, out of the two bulls, Sergio Perez seems to be the person who can easily get pole position here but Max Verstappen will take that honour instead.

Max Verstappen is a different animal when it comes to this track. Having won the race 3 times already, nothing is stopping him from getting a 4th win under his belt. Perez on the other hand also has the potential to beat his teammate. The Mexican driver was faster than the 2022 world champion in the first two practice sessions.

Multitudes of Red Flags to be caused during the Mexican GP qualifying session

Mexican GP
Mexican GP

Being the highest altitude race on the calendar, the teams still use a high downforce setup out for the Mexican GP weekend as the air up here is very thin and this in turn will cause the aerodynamics of the car to not work as well. Even though there are long straights at this track, the teams still go with the high downforce layout at this track.

After Friday practice, I expect to see some drivers lose it and crash while pushing to their limit during Qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix. These incidents might cause a Red Flag or two in order to clean the debris and move the car away. There have already been a lot of spins and crashes at this track. I predict that the session will be stopped once due to a crash and again due to a power unit issue.

Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris will get eliminated in Q2 of the Mexican GP qualifier

Daniel Ricciardo(on the left) and Lando Norris(on the right) Mexican GP
Daniel Ricciardo(on the left) and Lando Norris(on the right)

McLaren haven’t exactly had the best qualifying team when it comes to Qualifying in Mexico city. Last year Daniel managed to slot himself in P7 whilst teammate Lando Norris qualified below in P10. The car hasn’t been very competitive this year and it is evident in their performance. While Lando Norris is barely managing to take his car up till Q3, it is clear that it’s a hit and miss when it comes to Daniel Ricciardo.

The Aussie driver hasn’t made it into Q3 for multiple occasions over this season which has been a big downgrade compared to his Red Bull days. With this season being his last with the team, Daniel will have no other choice but to take up a reserve role in a team. When it comes to the team’s qualifying status for the Mexican GP, it does not look like the McLaren duo will be making it to Q3 together.

With both the titled already wrapped up by Red Bull and Max Verstappen, these last 3 races will be a short cruise to when they will have a grand celebration of their success over the season. Coming into the Mexican GP, the teem will be rooting for Sergio Perez to go and win what will be his home race. Pole or no pole, anything can happen out here in Mexico city so it will be an important qualifying session.

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