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With the first day of running in the 2023 F1 Mexican GP in the rearview mirror, we have an interesting prospect in front of us. As soon as FP2 ended, the timings leaderboard left everyone no less confused. While we had the usual suspects at their usual places, the gaps between them were surprisingly small.
Max Verstappen was once again at the top of the standings, but what was a surprise was to see Lewis Hamilton outside of the top 5, even though his best time was just about three-tenths of a second slower than Verstappen's.
This has induced an interesting debate that is worth getting into, and even bigger anticipation of what we can expect from the 2023 F1 Mexican GP qualifying. Well, let's take a look.
#1 Max Verstappen secures pole position for the 2023 F1 Mexican GP
It's going to be a close battle, and it's going to come down to the last lap because the gap is not too big between Red Bull and McLaren.
There's maybe a tenth or so between the two teams, and when the gaps are this small, sometimes it just comes down to the last lap.
There are many who don't rate Max Verstappen as one of his better skills, but that's not the case. The driver is brilliant when it comes to hooking up a qualifying lap, and it won't be a surprise if he does it again. We're backing Max Verstappen to secure pole position for the 2023 F1 Mexican GP.
#2 We have both McLaren drivers in P2 and P3
McLaren is the closest challenger to Red Bull at the 2023 F1 Mexican GP, and if Max Verstappen is getting the pole position, we're expecting Lando Norris to be a close second.
Having said that, we can't discount Oscar Piastri in this case as well. The Australian was off the pace on Friday, but lest we forget, this is his first time racing at this track, and it will take some getting used to.
By Saturday qualifying, however, he should be there and thereabouts, and we expect him to finish inside the top 3.
#3 Mercedes and Ferrari will make it to the top 5
Mercedes and Ferrari are probably a step behind Red Bull and McLaren in Mexico, and hence, expecting either of the two to be a factor in pole position is unlikely.
Having said that, with drivers like Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in the team, you can expect them to extract an impressive lap and put the car in the top 5 in qualifying.
#4 Sergio Perez won't make it to the top 5
Sergio Perez wasn't too far behind Max Verstappen in the 2023 F1 Mexican GP FP2. There was a gap of about three-tenths between the two, and it did give hope to the Mexican that he could challenge for pole position on Saturday.
Having said that, looking at Perez's recent form and his known vulnerability in qualifying, it's hard to back him on this front.
Red Bull is not a dominant force this weekend, where Perez can be half a second behind Max and still qualify inside the top 5.
We don't expect that to happen, and that is why we're going against Sergio Perez qualifying inside the top 5 this weekend.
#5 Aston Martin will struggle
The team was still quietly confident about where it found itself in the pecking order after the limited running it had. Having said that, there's more at play here. The car's still not dialed in after the new upgrades.
Even when that happens, the car's realistically not going to do better than the 5th fastest, as the top 4 teams seem out of reach at the moment. FP3 will be crucial for Aston Martin, but expect the team to struggle in the 2023 F1 Mexican GP qualifying.
