F1 | McLaren monopolizes the fourth row, Carlos Sainz: “We are on the right track”

McLaren reconfirms its strength and growth once again during qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix: the fourth row of the starting grid will be completely orange tomorrow, with Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris first of the others, behind the top drivers.

THE MCL34 performed well on the Mexico City track also during Free Practice 3, with Sainz fifth and Norris ninth. Both will start on the soft compound, used to qualify for Q3, but the Spaniard also risked a first stint on the yellow compound.

"It was a good day for us. Having tested the Medium tires in Q2 is a sign that we are on the right track and shows the confidence we have in the car. Without the traffic in the third sector I would have been close to the cutoff, but risking Q3 with a second heat on the mediums was a bit pointless, given the pace I knew I had on the Softs” said Sainz.

"In any case, another good final lap gives us a start behind the top teams, an excellent position to fight on the track. We will have to manage the tires carefully, but I am very happy with today's result. I'm proud of the whole team and how we keep pushing. Hopefully tomorrow we can finish on a high note".

Lando Norris can also be satisfied with the result, just two tenths behind his teammate.

"I'm quite happy with the result. I struggled this weekend, because I felt like I didn't have a great feeling with the car. I finished qualifying in P8 and I don't think we could have done better than that, with Carlos in P7. The team here in Mexico and the guys at the factory did a great job. Now we focus on tomorrow. My goal is to start well and have a clean race and try to gain points".