Toto Wolff 'amazed' as Mercedes had already started planning for second-row Mexico start

Valtteri Bottas after claiming pole position in Mexico — Photo: © LAT Images

Mexico City Grand Prix

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Wolff 'amazed' as Mercedes had already started planning for second-row Mexico start

Team clinched its first front-row lock-out of the season

Ian Parkes

Saturday 6 November 2021 23:52

Toto Wolff has conceded to being 'amazed' by Mercedes' front-row lock-out for the Mexico City Grand Prix as planning had already started for being on the second row.

Valtteri Bottas spearheaded a shock one-two ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez third and fourth on the grid.

Following its performance in practice, Red Bull appeared nailed on to secure the top two spots on the grid, and that it was just a question of which order.

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But Mercedes came to the fore at the right moment, with Bottas securing the 19th pole position of his career.

"This sport continues to amaze me," said Wolff. "You see it can change so quickly from one session to the other.

"In Austin, we were dominant on Friday and then we lost the performance. Here, we were far behind, and then suddenly in Q2 we unlocked the potential of the car and it came together."

Going into the race, starting on the second row has its advantages given the tow on the long straight into the first corner.

Asked to assess what could unfold, Wolff added: "We were rather thinking 'What are we doing if we are starting third and fourth? Can that be an advantage?', and it is a little advantage.

"But, first of all, I'm so happy we have gained a little bit of momentum and I hope this is going to go until the end of the season, the swings. It's good for you guys.

"Momentum is a nice thing to have but you just need to do the proper job and that means going session by session and trying to understand and learn about the car.

"You can see in Austin and here. In Austin, we had a good direction but lost the performance, and here, the opposite has been the case.

"Red Bull didn't seem to progress through qualifying. Q1 was good but later on, no. Why? I don't know and probably they don't know either."