Max Verstappen has expressed his shock at his Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying result after being put under huge pressure.
His first lap in Q3 was good enough for provisional pole, but was quickly deleted for track limits at Turn 2, leaving him 10th and without a time heading into the crucial second runs.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz would ultimately grab pole position - his first since the 2023 Singapore GP - but Verstappen rescued a front-row slot alongside his former team-mate, with title rival Lando Norris in third place for the long run to Turn 1.
However, it has been far from a smooth weekend for Verstappen, with an engine issue in practice hampering his time on track, as he expressed relief at overcoming the pressure to deliver a P2 time.
"Yeah, quite a lot," Verstappen explained when asked about the pressure he was under on the second Q3 lap.
"Yesterday, I didn't do any laps, so we were playing catch-up, and FP3 was not very good, so I was already under a lot of pressure to have a good qualifying.
"My lap got taken away so it added a bit more pressure, but I am very happy to be on the front-row, I honestly did not expect that to be possible."
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Tricky Mexico
Verstappen has a record five wins in Mexico, including the last three consecutively, but conceded the track was one of the trickiest on the calendar.
"It is one of the hardest tracks to get right, street circuits are difficult, but this one as well because you have low downforce," he said.
"It is very easy to have a lock-up or a slide and the tyres overheat, so it is one of the trickiest ones on the calendar."
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