Hamilton 'so proud' of Bottas pole after record-breaking Mercedes one-two in qualifying

Mexico City, November 7: Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas revelled in a stunning qualifying performance at the Mexican Grand Prix that saw Mercedes lock out the front row.

Rivals Red Bull had been fastest in practice, with home favourite Sergio Perez leading Saturday's session ahead of team-mate Max Verstappen.

But Mercedes turned that result on its head when it mattered most, with Bottas on pole and Hamilton alongside him in second.

This was the Silver Arrows' 81st one-two in qualifying, a new record ahead of Ferrari's 80.

Verstappen took provisional pole from Perez in Q3, but his mark was shattered by Bottas, with none of the leading men able to top the Finn's 1:15.875 on their second runs.

"Valtteri did an amazing job. I'm so proud of Valtteri," Hamilton said. "He's been driving so well in the last few races.

"It's so great for the team, they've been working so hard and we didn't think we had the pace this weekend. To lock out the front row is pretty special, and it gives us a good fight with the others on Sunday."

Bottas added: "They were awesome laps, especially my first lap in Q3.

"I couldn't quite match the same last sector in my second one, but I think honestly that first run in Q3 is one of my best laps, and it's a good feeling."

This moment. 💙💜 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/nR8UjFjdNz

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) November 6, 2021

Looking ahead to the race, he said: "It is a long straight and the guys behind with the tow will have good opportunities, so we'll need a good start.

"At least as a team it's great that we have two cars ahead, and hopefully we can try to keep our positions somehow."

Verstappen will have to start from third – the same position from which Hamilton won the previous Mexican GP in 2019 - with Perez just behind in fourth.

The Dutchman felt he could have challenged Bottas with his final flying lap but then found himself caught behind an incident involving Perez and Yuki Tsunoda, complaining over the team radio of "such a dumb idiot".

"On the last lap, I was on for a good lap but I don't know what happened in front of me," he said.

"There were two guys going off, so I thought there was going to be a yellow flag and I backed off. The lap is of course destroyed."

Qualifying had been delayed after a red flag early in Q1 when Lance Stroll ran wide at the Peraltada onto the dirty part of the track, failed to get his car back under control and hit the barriers.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 1:15.875

2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.145

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.350

4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.467

5. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +0.581

6. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.886

7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) +0.888

8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.962

9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) +1.283

10. Lando Norris (McLaren) +20.955