2021 Mexican GP: Sebastian to start ninth after qualifying
Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team's Sebastian Vettel secured a top 10 start after a dramatic qualifying session for the 2021 Mexican Grand Prix.
Sebastian will start ninth due to penalties elsewhere in the field while an accident removed Lance from contention in Q1, although he was always due to start from the rear of the field following power united-related changes.
Sebastian:
Sebastian took to the track five minutes into Q1, and on his first flying lap on new Soft tyres, posted a 1.18.490, which was worthy of second early on.
After failing to improve on this time in his second run in the session, the German lapped in 1.17.502 on his third attempt to move into eighth and comfortably advance to Q2.
Mexican Grand Prix
Get ready for the Mexican Grand Prix with our in-depth race preview. Hear from Lance and Sebastian and discover the key talking points for the weekend ahead.
In the second part of qualifying, Sebastian ran solely on the Medium tyres and set a benchmark of 1.18.799 on the mid-range compound, with the run affected by a tear-off latching onto his rear wing.
Heading out on a new set of Mediums in the closing stages, he improved by over one second with a 1.17.746 lap time to take 11th.
Due to penalties elsewhere in the field, Sebastian will start ninth, and well-placed to challenge for a points finish.
"It was a decent effort today. We tried to make it to Q3 on the Medium and I had two runs in Q2: my first was not very strong, and I think a tear-off stuck on the rear wing cost us some performance, but the second run was much better.
"I think we will start from ninth tomorrow, but let’s see how the grid looks when all the penalties are applied. That should give us a good platform to have a strong race.
"We have shown good pace on the long runs this weekend, so I think we can be up there fighting for good points.
"We also have free choice on tyres [as a result of qualifying 11th], so we will go away and look over the data to work out the best strategy for tomorrow."
Lance:
With Lance set to start from the rear of the field, he continued to focus on long-distance running and race preparations in FP3.
Running on new Medium tyres, he produced a 1.19.730 lap to rank 11th.
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In qualifying, the Canadian was unfortunate to make an early exit after losing control of his AMR21, running off-line in Turn 16 on his first flying lap in Q1.
After making contact with the exit wall on the run to the start/finish line, Lance played no further part in qualifying.
Lance was taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks, and with all vital signs and x-rays showing as normal, was released without need for further examination.
Lance will start the Mexican Grand Prix from 20th on the grid but, with plenty of long-run data, he will set his sights on fighting through the field.
"I am OK. I was a little bit too wide at the final corner, it was a bit dirty out there, and I lost the car at the exit due to a lack of grip. It is a big job for the team and the mechanics [to repair], so it is a shame.
"I wanted to see what we could do in qualifying and see how the car felt, even though we were set to start at the back of the grid anyway.
"We will do our best to work our way up the field in the race and gain some places tomorrow."
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