Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Should Fear This Race-Winning Move Max Verstappen Pulled on Lewis Hamilton the Last Time He Was in This Situation

Max Verstappen failed to secure the pole position ahead of the Mexico City GP. Verstappen started the session strongly but lost his way in Q3. The Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc, and Carlos Sainz capitalized on this, taking P1 and P2 respectively. Interestingly, Verstappen will start from P3 tomorrow again, which is the same starting position the Dutchman started back in 2021 when he won the race.

Verstappen starting third in Mexico can only mean one thing, throw it back to 2021. pic.twitter.com/UGO0UREPJ5

— Lis (@rbrblis) October 28, 2023

A couple of years ago, Verstappen and Red Bull dominated practice, much like what happened in Mexico this year. However, in qualifying, the Red Bull ace gave the lead to Valtteri Bottas, and Lewis Hamilton managed to finish in second.

When the race started, Verstappen made a brave move down into turn 1, on cold brakes. Consequently, he took the lead from Hamilton and Bottas. He opened up a sizeable lead at the front, and took the win in the end.

Yet again, the race is being held on the same circuit with a few different competitors. However, Verstappen will again have to fight hard to pass on the Mexican circuit, which is still a difficult task considering the air is thinner there due to its high altitude. The Red Bull driver might have a strategy in place for this.

The three-time champion still has two hard tires, which could come in handy as he attempts to win his 51st race.

How do the Ferrari drivers intend to counter Max Verstappen?

Ferrari’s performance has been consistent since the summer break. Though the team has won only a single race, they are still in contention for the P2 title against Mercedes. Therefore, stopping Verstappen continues to be their top goal. In light of this, following the qualification, Leclerc was questioned about his level of confidence in stopping the Dutchman.

The Ferrari driver initially responded with optimism, saying that anything might occur. However, he later claimed that the track’s conditions were among the most difficult that might prevent the formidable Verstappen from repeating what he did in 2021. During the press conference in Mexico Leclerc said, ” What I hope so is it’s a very difficult race here.” Later, he added, ” Especially with the cooling, whichever car is behind will do a bit more management.”

While wrapping up his response, the Ferrari wonder claimed that in order to keep the position, the Ferrari boys needed to make a good start. The 25-year-old concluded by saying, ” Starting first here is always tricky to keep that position into until the first corner, but we’ve had pretty good starts this year. So yeah, I’m confident we can keep that first place into turn one and then we’ll try and do our best race.” 

Given Ferrari’s recent form revival, it will be intriguing to watch how Verstappen adapts to secure his 51st race victory.