Can Ferrari deny Verstappen record-breaking victory?

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Ferrari's Charles Leclerc says he is not celebrating pole anymore despite finishing first in Q3, whilst Carlos Sainz says he expects Max Verstappen to be quicker in Sunday's Mexican GP. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc says he is not celebrating pole anymore despite finishing first in Q3, whilst Carlos Sainz says he expects Max Verstappen to be quicker in Sunday's Mexican GP. Very few people expected Ferrari to lock out the front row for the Mexico City Grand Prix but Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz performed when it mattered most at the business end of qualifying. The Ferrari duo got their tyres into the optimal working range as Max Verstappen admitted his Red Bull car got away from him as he pushed a little too hard.But, given Red Bull have only been beaten once on a Sunday all season, world champion Verstappen inevitably remains favourite for the 71-lap race - which starts at 8pm live on Sky Sports F1 - when he will aim to beat his own record of 15 wins in a single campaign Much of Ferrari's hopes will likely rest on the race's opening seconds and the long run down to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez's first corner.In 2019, Leclerc started from pole alongside then-Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel and they kept the field at bay after the 811m charge to the opening right-hander. But, it can get very feisty there as Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen showed in that same race when they made contact just behind the leaders.In 2021, Verstappen made a stunning move late on the brakes to overtake the Mercedes of Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, so don't be surprised if we see a three-wide moment going into the first corner. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the Mexico City Grand Prix. Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the Mexico City Grand Prix. "It's a very difficult race. Everything can happen, especially with the cooling. Whichever car is behind can do a bit more management, so it can play in our favour but for that we need a good start," said Leclerc."Starting first here is always tricky to keep that position into the first corner but we have had pretty good starts here, so I'm confident we can keep that place."This year Max has been extremely strong on the race pace so at the moment we still have a lot of work to do to match them with our race pace."It's a very special track for strategy, especially with high altitude, tyre management will be a huge thing. We will have to be on top of this. For the strategy, we will adapt on the go to try and keep that first place." Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Charles Leclerc claimed pole position in a hectic Mexico City qualifying, with Lando Norris failing to make it out of Q1. Charles Leclerc claimed pole position in a hectic Mexico City qualifying, with Lando Norris failing to make it out of Q1. How might Ferrari play the start to keep Verstappen behind?If all goes to plan for Ferrari, Leclerc should immediately move over to the right hand side from pole to tow team-mate Sainz down to Turn One and leave Verstappen with no slipstream, potentially leaving the Dutchman vulnerable to Daniel Ricciardo - who qualified a superb fourth for AlphaTauri - or the Mercedes' of Hamilton, sixth, and George Russell, eighth.Then, Sainz should go to the outside of Leclerc in the braking zone and not race his team-mate too hard so the Ferrari pair can retain their one-two positions.Asked by Sky Sports F1 if the team-mates can work together at the start, Sainz said: "If we can of course. But it's impossible to predict whether we will be able to do so. A few metres better start than Max or Charles and suddenly we cannot play with slipstreams anymore."I will just try and do the best possible start because I am starting on the dirty side so my start will be weaker than Max and Charles, then we can see where we are at." Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Daniel Ricciardo says it's 'pretty cool' to qualify fourth for the Mexico City Grand Prix and admits having a lot of cars behind him on the grid is a nice feeling. Daniel Ricciardo says it's 'pretty cool' to qualify fourth for the Mexico City Grand Prix and admits having a lot of cars behind him on the grid is a nice feeling. Will Ferrari be able to manage their tyres?On paper, strategy shouldn't be too difficult for the Mexico City Grand Prix because it's a low degradation track, so a one-stopper should be the way forward.The only big threat Ferrari will face if they are one-two is from an undercut or overcut. It's likely that Verstappen will have to overtake one, or both, of Leclerc and Sainz on the track - perhaps in a similar fashion to Monza back in September when