Autobayng News Team
The McLaren drivers have usually been separated by hundredths of a second in qualifying but Lando Norris was over half a second clear in Mexico.
Gaps between team mates
The 0.588 second gap between pole-winner Norris and his team mate Oscar Piastri in eighth (before Carlos Sainz Jnr’s penalty) was the largest representative gap between any pair of team mates in qualifying. Liam Lawson was over a second off Isack Hadjar but that was because he aborted his final run.
Only once this year was the gap between the McLaren pair almost as big as this. Norris beat his team mate by 0.583s in Austria, but that was partly because Piastri’s lap was compromised by a yellow flag.
In the seven grands prix which followed that, the pair were only separated by more than a tenth of a second once. Before today’s qualifying session the average gap between them was a mere eight-thousandths of a second.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella suggested Piastri didn’t click as readily with the low-grip Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez as Norris did. The data appears to bear that out – the last time the gap between them was this large was at the same race last year – though on that occasion Piastri was also compromised by losing a lap time due to a track limits infringement.
Team mate battles
Further underlining how close the qualifying battle ordinarily is between the McLaren drivers, Norris drew level with Piastri by qualifying ahead today. Meanwhile at Haas Oliver Bearman became the sixth driver to win the qualifying battle against his team mate this year.
Fernando Alonso 19 – 0 Lance Stroll
Max Verstappen 17 – 0 Yuki Tsunoda
George Russell 18 – 2 Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Charles Leclerc 15 – 5 Lewis Hamilton
Isack Hadjar 13 – 4 Liam Lawson
Oliver Bearman 12 – 7 Esteban Ocon
Carlos Sainz Jnr 11 – 9 Alexander Albon
Gabriel Bortoleto 11 – 9 Nico Hulkenberg
Pierre Gasly 5 – 4 Franco Colapinto
Lando Norris 10 – 10 Oscar Piastri
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Streaks
Out-qualified team mate
| Rank | Driver | Streak |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fernando Alonso | 31 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | 26 |
| 3 | Oliver Bearman | 5 |
| 4 | Nico Hulkenberg | 3 |
| = | George Russell | 3 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | 2 |
| = | Isack Hadjar | 2 |
| = | Pierre Gasly | 2 |
| = | Charles Leclerc | 2 |
| = | Lando Norris | 2 |
| 11 | Jack Doohan | 1 |
Out-qualified by team mate
| Rank | Driver | Streak |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lance Stroll | 31 |
| 2 | Yuki Tsunoda | 18 |
| 3 | Esteban Ocon | 5 |
| 4 | Gabriel Bortoleto | 3 |
| = | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | 3 |
| 6 | Franco Colapinto | 2 |
| = | Alexander Albon | 2 |
| = | Liam Lawson | 2 |
| = | Lewis Hamilton | 2 |
| = | Oscar Piastri | 2 |
Q1 eliminations and Q3 appearances
Eliminated in Q1
| Rank | Driver | Streak |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabriel Bortoleto | 3 |
| = | Lance Stroll | 3 |
| 3 | Alexander Albon | 2 |
| 4 | Franco Colapinto | 1 |
| = | Pierre Gasly | 1 |
Reached Q3
| Rank | Driver | Streak |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris | 27 |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | 24 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | 23 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | 13 |
| 5 | George Russell | 12 |
| 6 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | 5 |
| 7 | Oliver Bearman | 3 |
| = | Lewis Hamilton | 3 |
| 9 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | 2 |
| 10 | Isack Hadjar | 1 |
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