Martin Brundle spots the ‘extreme’ thing Carlos Sainz ‘kept quiet’ before Mexico City Grand Prix pole

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Carlos Sainz performed admirably in qualifying ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix, setting two laps good enough for pole position.

The Spaniard managed the low-grip surface very well and put his Ferrari at the front of the field for Sunday’s race.

Qualifying was very difficult for a lot of drivers across the grid, as Sergio Perez and Oscar Piastri were both eliminated in Q1.

Ferrari looked very impressive, as Charles Leclerc was at the sharp end of the field. He will start in third place behind Max Verstappen for the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Qualifying is about fine margins and extracting the maximum from the car and track, using every piece of the tarmac available.

Martin Brundle spotted a key aspect of Sainz’s pole lap while commentating for Sky Sports F1 that was very clever and helped him to pole position in Mexico.

Martin Brundle spotted Carlos Sainz shortening his route to the timing line

Sainz was on the limit throughout qualifying, maximising the car’s potential on a circuit made up of a lot of slow-speed turns.

Ferrari has been very good on tracks that require a lot of mechanical grip, as they won the Monaco Grand Prix and were competitive in Azerbaijan. Leclerc is also wary that he can be lacking patience despite scoring good results.

Sainz has a very good opportunity to score a good result in Mexico on Sunday as he has shown good pace over a single lap and on longer runs over the weekend.

READ MORE: Carlos Sainz left confused by what British TV channels have said about him during F1 race weekends

He minimised the distance out of the final turn, cutting to the right side of the track towards the pit lane entry, shortening some metres off his lap.

Brundle spotted the key detail during the session as Sainz set the fastest time in the final part of qualifying.

He said: “He took that to the extreme, didn’t he? And kept it quiet until it mattered. That’s what it’s all about.”

Ferrari may have an advantage with both cars at the front of the field

Ferrari may have a slight advantage over their nearest rivals Red Bull and McLaren as the Italian team have two cars at the front.

Both of Ferrari’s rivals will have one car at the sharp end of the field, with Verstappen and Lando Norris, who are engaged in their battle for the championship.

Ferrari having two cars in competitive positions will allow them to control the race if they keep the lead in the opening stages.

They will be able to keep more strategy options open over the 71-lap event, and race runs are slightly unknown due to the lack of comparable running in practice.