Summary

  • Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel takes pole for Sunday's race

  • German's 50th pole position in F1

  • Red Bull's Max Verstappen second and Lewis Hamilton third

  • Bottas fourth and Raikkonen fifth

  • Hamilton can seal title on Sunday - needs to finish fifth

Live Reporting

Michael Emons

  1. Qualifying 2 standings

    This is how it stands after two qualifying sessions.

    Q2F1

  2. 'We need to change something'

    Max Verstappen to his Red Bull team on the radio: "We need to change something if we want a one-time lap. This doesn't work at all."

    Mexican Grand PrixGetty Images

  3. Ten men left

    So fighting it out for pole position are..

    • Two Red Bulls
    • Two Ferraris
    • Two Mercedes
    • Two Force Indias
    • Two Renaults

  4. End of Q2

    Out in Q2 are...

    • Felipe Massa (Williams)
    • Lance Stroll (Williams)
    • Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)
    • Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
    • Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren)

    Max Verstappen is fastest, Sebastian Vettel second, Lewis Hamilton third and then the other Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas. Hartley's car broke down on the track, while the McLaren pair, both facing grid penalties, did not leave the garage in Q2.

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  5. A bit wild from Lance Stroll as he goes wide in the stadium section and his lap is only 12th quickest, but there is time for one last go.

    Felipe Massa, his Williams team-mate, is only 11th, which is not going to be enough at the moment.

  6. Get Involved

    #bbcf1

    Enjoying your conspiracy theories relating to the Toro Rosso failures and Daniil Kvyat being left on the sidelines.

    ..

  7. Lance Stroll comes out on to the track in an attempt to get into Q3.

  8. 'Mercedes will be nervous'

    Tom Clarkson
    BBC Radio 5 live sports extra commentator in Mexico City

    That left-hander Max Verstappen kept making a mess off in final practice - we said if he hooked it up there would be time to come and that was a very good lap and he has laid down the gauntlet. That will make Mercedes a little more nervous.

  9. The bottom five at the moment are Brendon Hartley, Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and Stoffel Vandoorne.

    None of them have set a time yet. Hartley won't be able to as he is done for the day. Three and a half minutes left of Q2.

  10. Verstappen leads

    Wonderful stuff from Max Verstappen, who becomes the first driver to go under the one minute 17 seconds mark. By my counting that is the eighth time the track record has gone today.

    His time of 1:16.524 is half a second better than anyone else.

  11. Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly could not take part in qualifying, and now a similar problem has affected his team-mate Brendon Hartley. Worrying times for their fans.

    Pierre GaslyGetty Images

  12. 'Track record won't last long'

    Allan McNish
    Formula 1 analyst on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

    Lewis Hamilton gave away a little bit in the final sector - probably about half a tenth of a second. It's a track record but I don't think that will last long.

  13. 'No power'

    "No power, no power," says Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley, who grinds to a halt by the side of the track, causing the yellow flags to be waved.

  14. Hamilton leads in Q2

    Valtteri Bottas throws down a lap of 1:17.161, better than Hamilton in Q1, but not as good as Max Verstappen's 1:17.113 in practice three.

    But just then Sebastian Vettel jumps to the top with a new track record (the sixth time it has gone today) of 1:17.058.

    Make that seven times. The track record is now Lewis Hamilton's after his 1:17.035.

  15. Grid penalties for engine changes 'a joke'

    Allan McNish
    Formula 1 analyst on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

    You're penalising the race and you're penalising the driver for something he has no control over. There has to be a better way to do it because it's a bit of a joke to be honest with you.

  16. 'Bit late'

    Two McLarens through. If only they had done this throughout the season.

  17. Haas struggle

    Allan McNish
    Formula 1 analyst on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

    Simulations suggested this would be Haas's worst circuit and it turns out to be the case.

  18. Will anyone risk super soft tyres in Q2?

    Tom Clarkson
    BBC Radio 5 live sports extra commentator in Mexico City

    It's too tight. This is going to be the closest qualification session of the year. I don't think the drivers can afford not getting through Q2, So I'm expecting them to be on the ultra softs.

    Note: Drivers start the race on the tyres they use to set their fastest lap in Q2, so there could be a tactical advantage from starting the race on super softs.

  19. Q1 times

    These are the times after Q1. A Mercedes one-two, just as it was in the first practice session, but with the order swapped around. Sergio Perez safely through in his Force India, much to the delight of the home fans.

    In the top 15, we have...

    • Two Mercedes
    • Two Red Bull
    • Two Ferrari
    • Two McLaren
    • Two Force India
    • Two Renault
    • Two Williams
    • One Toro Rosso
    Q1F1

  20. Hamilton fastest

    He wasn't happy at the end of the session, but Lewis Hamilton was still the quickest in that first section of qualifying.