Ayo Komatsu on battling Sauber in the Constructors' Championship
With five races remaining in the season Haas F1 sits ninth in the Constructors' Championship, 11 points behind Sauber. In Mexico City team principal Aio Komatsu was asked if there was a chance to claw back…
Aio Komatsu: "I don't think it's worth linking the five remaining races with the 11-point gap. All the teams are very competitive. Jonathan and his guys are doing a great job. The experienced Nico Hülkenberg has impressed in recent races, and his teammate Gabriele Bortoleto is a quick and promising rookie. It's great for our sport that the teams are so strong.
For us there's no point in calculating: 'Okay, five races, we need to score this many points here, that many there.' It's important to focus on the next session. If it's the first practice, get the maximum out of the car and the drivers, find the setup, prepare for the second.
With five races remaining in the season Haas F1 sits ninth in the Constructors' Championship, 11 points behind Sauber. In Mexico City team principal Aio Komatsu was asked if there was a chance to claw back…
Aio Komatsu: "I don't think it's worth linking the five remaining races with the 11-point gap. All the teams are very competitive. Jonathan and his guys are doing a great job. The experienced Nico Hülkenberg has impressed in recent races, and his teammate Gabriele Bortoleto is a quick and promising rookie. It's great for our sport that the teams are so strong.
For us there's no point in calculating: 'Okay, five races, we need to score this many points here, that many there.' It's important to focus on the next session. If it's the first practice, get the maximum out of the car and the drivers, find the setup, prepare for the second.
Rio Hirakawa hopes to make it into Formula 1.
Ryo Hirakawa has achieved a lot over his career: he once won the title in Japan’s touring-car series Super GT, then finished as runner-up in the national Super Formula, but his main achievements are linked to endurance racing. The Japanese driver, together with his teammates at the Toyota factory team, became WEC champion twice, in 2022 and 2023, and his record includes a victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Since last year Haas F1 and Toyota Gazoo Racing agreed a technical partnership, it’s logical that this year Hirakawa became the American team’s reserve driver and took part in several practice sessions; yesterday in Mexico he drove Oliver Bearman’s car in the first session of the weekend.
Ryo Hirakawa has achieved a lot over his career: he once won the title in Japan’s touring-car series Super GT, then finished as runner-up in the national Super Formula, but his main achievements are linked to endurance racing. The Japanese driver, together with his teammates at the Toyota factory team, became WEC champion twice, in 2022 and 2023, and his record includes a victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Since last year Haas F1 and Toyota Gazoo Racing agreed a technical partnership, it’s logical that this year Hirakawa became the American team’s reserve driver and took part in several practice sessions; yesterday in Mexico he drove Oliver Bearman’s car in the first session of the weekend.
In the past decade, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel were fierce rivals on the racetracks, but over time the relationship between the two drivers changed and became friendly.
In Mexico the Ferrari driver said that he is constantly in touch with Sebastian, and the four-time world champion supports him during difficult periods.
Lewis Hamilton: "I have an amazing relationship with Sebastian. Of all the drivers I've had to interact with over the years of my career, he's the most well-rounded. When I call him that, I mean that he is someone who can empathize, someone who is incredibly driven to compete, but who understands that there is much more to the world than just us.
There's no constant 'me, me, me' around him. He brings people together. I like how he uses his influence.
He supported me during a rather tense time and today does a lot of good. We stay in touch. He supports me during race weekends, sends me messages. I am endlessly grateful for our relationship."
In Mexico the Ferrari driver said that he is constantly in touch with Sebastian, and the four-time world champion supports him during difficult periods.
Lewis Hamilton: "I have an amazing relationship with Sebastian. Of all the drivers I've had to interact with over the years of my career, he's the most well-rounded. When I call him that, I mean that he is someone who can empathize, someone who is incredibly driven to compete, but who understands that there is much more to the world than just us.
There's no constant 'me, me, me' around him. He brings people together. I like how he uses his influence.
He supported me during a rather tense time and today does a lot of good. We stay in touch. He supports me during race weekends, sends me messages. I am endlessly grateful for our relationship."
Ferrari had its best qualifying of the season.
Qualifying for the Mexico Grand Prix was Ferrari's best of the season – for the first time in 2025 both team drivers qualified inside the top three. Charles Leclerc will start the race from second, and Lewis Hamilton from third. For the seven-time world champion this is his highest starting position in a race this season, excluding the sprint.
Charles Leclerc (2nd): "Qualifying was very difficult because there was practically no grip with the track. The car was sliding a lot, so it was hard to put a lap together. So I'm quite pleased with the work we did. I don't think I could have squeezed more out of the car. Usually after qualifying you think you could have done some things better here and there, but today I'm very happy with my performance. A win in the race would mean a lot to us. We'll do everything we can to be first after the first corner.
Qualifying for the Mexico Grand Prix was Ferrari's best of the season – for the first time in 2025 both team drivers qualified inside the top three. Charles Leclerc will start the race from second, and Lewis Hamilton from third. For the seven-time world champion this is his highest starting position in a race this season, excluding the sprint.
Charles Leclerc (2nd): "Qualifying was very difficult because there was practically no grip with the track. The car was sliding a lot, so it was hard to put a lap together. So I'm quite pleased with the work we did. I don't think I could have squeezed more out of the car. Usually after qualifying you think you could have done some things better here and there, but today I'm very happy with my performance. A win in the race would mean a lot to us. We'll do everything we can to be first after the first corner.
Nico Hülkenberg looked decent in the first part of qualifying but couldn't improve in the second and was knocked out...
Nico Hülkenberg (13th): "For some reason I couldn't claw back as much in the second part of qualifying as my rivals did. The first run was very good, without the slightest mistake, but on the second I couldn't get any more out of it — in the second sector the rear of the car was nervous. Still, I'm starting 13th and can hope for points. Let's see what tomorrow brings."
Gabriel Bortoleto (16th): "To be honest, it's a bit frustrating. The first two runs in qualifying went well, but on the final attempt with a fresh set of tyres I couldn't put it all together. There was no grip around the whole lap, so it didn't come together. The pace was good, which is why I'm so upset. It's difficult to overtake on this track, the race will be tough, but we'll do everything we can and take any opportunity to fight back."
Nico Hülkenberg (13th): "For some reason I couldn't claw back as much in the second part of qualifying as my rivals did. The first run was very good, without the slightest mistake, but on the second I couldn't get any more out of it — in the second sector the rear of the car was nervous. Still, I'm starting 13th and can hope for points. Let's see what tomorrow brings."
Gabriel Bortoleto (16th): "To be honest, it's a bit frustrating. The first two runs in qualifying went well, but on the final attempt with a fresh set of tyres I couldn't put it all together. There was no grip around the whole lap, so it didn't come together. The pace was good, which is why I'm so upset. It's difficult to overtake on this track, the race will be tough, but we'll do everything we can and take any opportunity to fight back."
Qualifying in Mexico went worse for Red Bull Racing than the team had expected – Max Verstappen only managed fifth fastest. Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko believes there is no chance of victory in the race this time.
Helmut Marko: "We were able to improve, but still lost two tenths of a second in the second sector – in just two corners. The race will be difficult for us; tyre degradation will be decisive.
I think Lando Norris is invulnerable here, but everything else is possible. Our maximum in the race is a podium.
Tsunoda dropped out of contention in the second session. 11th place. He is gradually improving – the upward trend in his results continues, but in qualifying he always falls behind more than in races. He needs to learn to control that."
Helmut Marko: "We were able to improve, but still lost two tenths of a second in the second sector – in just two corners. The race will be difficult for us; tyre degradation will be decisive.
I think Lando Norris is invulnerable here, but everything else is possible. Our maximum in the race is a podium.
Tsunoda dropped out of contention in the second session. 11th place. He is gradually improving – the upward trend in his results continues, but in qualifying he always falls behind more than in races. He needs to learn to control that."
Norris: Seeing the result, I was pleasantly surprised.
Lando Norris won qualifying in Mexico — it’s his fifth pole of the season and his first in exactly three months, since the Belgian round of the championship. His McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, could not get higher than eighth on the grid.
Lando Norris (1st): “I’m very happy to be back on pole! It really lifts the mood, because I haven’t won a qualifying session in a long time. It was one of those laps where you don’t really know what’s happening. It felt like things were coming together pretty well, but when I crossed the line and saw the result I was pleasantly surprised.
“Honestly, I’ve been in a good frame of mind since the start of the weekend, and especially today things went well from session to session.
Lando Norris won qualifying in Mexico — it’s his fifth pole of the season and his first in exactly three months, since the Belgian round of the championship. His McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, could not get higher than eighth on the grid.
Lando Norris (1st): “I’m very happy to be back on pole! It really lifts the mood, because I haven’t won a qualifying session in a long time. It was one of those laps where you don’t really know what’s happening. It felt like things were coming together pretty well, but when I crossed the line and saw the result I was pleasantly surprised.
“Honestly, I’ve been in a good frame of mind since the start of the weekend, and especially today things went well from session to session.
Verstappen: It doesn't look like the car will get any better in the race.
Max Verstappen qualified fifth in Mexico, nearly five-tenths of a second behind polesitter Lando Norris. Speaking about the upcoming race, the Red Bull Racing driver said he needs rivals to retire in order to finish in a higher position.
Yuki Tsunoda did not make the final qualifying segment, setting the eleventh-fastest time. However, thanks to Carlos Sainz's penalty he will start tenth.
Max Verstappen (5th): “If we knew what was wrong with the car, we would have fixed it. Unfortunately, we don't know. We've tried a lot of solutions, but none of them were good enough. So you can't say we didn't try, we just haven't found the solution.
We kept trying to fix the situation in qualifying, and in some corners the car didn't behave as it should. In some corners it improved, but in others it got worse, so I couldn't attack.
Max Verstappen qualified fifth in Mexico, nearly five-tenths of a second behind polesitter Lando Norris. Speaking about the upcoming race, the Red Bull Racing driver said he needs rivals to retire in order to finish in a higher position.
Yuki Tsunoda did not make the final qualifying segment, setting the eleventh-fastest time. However, thanks to Carlos Sainz's penalty he will start tenth.
Max Verstappen (5th): “If we knew what was wrong with the car, we would have fixed it. Unfortunately, we don't know. We've tried a lot of solutions, but none of them were good enough. So you can't say we didn't try, we just haven't found the solution.
We kept trying to fix the situation in qualifying, and in some corners the car didn't behave as it should. In some corners it improved, but in others it got worse, so I couldn't attack.
Pierre Gasly: We were a couple of tenths short.
Following qualifying in Mexico, Alpine drivers again found themselves at the back of the timing sheets, but they believe they were able to make progress compared to Friday…
Pierre Gasly (18th): "Considering how many problems there were yesterday, today we handled things better, reducing the gap to some rivals. We were a couple of tenths short of getting into the second part.
Yesterday the car was difficult to drive, it was sliding a lot, there wasn't enough grip, we were far off the required pace. We knew it would be tough here, but on Saturday we were able to take a few steps forward and solve a couple of issues we faced in practice. The race won't be easy either. To score points we need something to happen ahead of us, but we, as always, will do everything we can.
Following qualifying in Mexico, Alpine drivers again found themselves at the back of the timing sheets, but they believe they were able to make progress compared to Friday…
Pierre Gasly (18th): "Considering how many problems there were yesterday, today we handled things better, reducing the gap to some rivals. We were a couple of tenths short of getting into the second part.
Yesterday the car was difficult to drive, it was sliding a lot, there wasn't enough grip, we were far off the required pace. We knew it would be tough here, but on Saturday we were able to take a few steps forward and solve a couple of issues we faced in practice. The race won't be easy either. To score points we need something to happen ahead of us, but we, as always, will do everything we can.
Before the Mexican Grand Prix, the family of billionaire Carlos Slim held a friendly football match at their stadium, featuring professional footballers, athletes from other sports, and businessmen. Among those who took to the field was Sergio Pérez, now a driver for Cadillac’s works team, which is preparing to debut in Formula 1 in 2026.
As El País reports, Sergio arrived at the stadium with Carlos Slim Jr., the son of the founder of the telecommunications empire that sponsored Pérez for many years, and they were also accompanied by young Mexican drivers Santiago Ramos and Noel León, who will move up to Formula 2 next season.
At first Pérez didn’t even intend to take part in the match, but he changed his mind and in the short time he spent on the pitch he managed to score a goal, after which he cheerfully commented: “It was worth it! I haven’t played football in several years, but what you know how to do, you never forget!”
When Pérez was asked whether he would be at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on Sunday, he replied: “I won’t be there, I’ll be watching the Mexican Grand Prix from home. I want to spend the weekend in Guadalajara with my family and will watch the race on TV. Of course I miss interacting with my fans, but I want to tell them that I’ll only miss the home race this time, and next year we’ll see each other again.”
As El País reports, Sergio arrived at the stadium with Carlos Slim Jr., the son of the founder of the telecommunications empire that sponsored Pérez for many years, and they were also accompanied by young Mexican drivers Santiago Ramos and Noel León, who will move up to Formula 2 next season.
At first Pérez didn’t even intend to take part in the match, but he changed his mind and in the short time he spent on the pitch he managed to score a goal, after which he cheerfully commented: “It was worth it! I haven’t played football in several years, but what you know how to do, you never forget!”
When Pérez was asked whether he would be at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on Sunday, he replied: “I won’t be there, I’ll be watching the Mexican Grand Prix from home. I want to spend the weekend in Guadalajara with my family and will watch the race on TV. Of course I miss interacting with my fans, but I want to tell them that I’ll only miss the home race this time, and next year we’ll see each other again.”
Fernando Alonso failed to make it to the final round of qualifying in Mexico, but believes he got the most out of the car…
Fernando Alonso (14th): "We tried to get more speed out of the car, but I think that was our maximum. In qualifying everyone was lacking grip. We'll see what happens tomorrow, how the first corners go — the chicanes here are narrow, so you can make up positions there. We'll do everything possible to fight for points."
Lance Stroll (19th): "In third practice the car looked fine, but in qualifying there was simply no grip. It often happens — in practice there is grip, and in qualifying we go out on track and see that the situation has changed. We'll see what happens tomorrow. It's clear that starting from the back won't make the race easy."
Fernando Alonso (14th): "We tried to get more speed out of the car, but I think that was our maximum. In qualifying everyone was lacking grip. We'll see what happens tomorrow, how the first corners go — the chicanes here are narrow, so you can make up positions there. We'll do everything possible to fight for points."
Lance Stroll (19th): "In third practice the car looked fine, but in qualifying there was simply no grip. It often happens — in practice there is grip, and in qualifying we go out on track and see that the situation has changed. We'll see what happens tomorrow. It's clear that starting from the back won't make the race easy."
Russell: We fell short of the top three by very little.
George Russell will start in Mexico from fourth position and says the qualifying results slightly surprise him. Kimi Antonelli is a bit upset — he says he couldn't find the right rhythm, although in the end the Italian Mercedes driver posted the eighth-fastest time.
George Russell (4th): "The results are somewhat surprising, because usually if we qualify behind two Ferraris we're more likely to be around fifth or sixth, but right now we're fourth. It's a pretty decent result, and although we couldn't catch the top three, we were only a little way off. By the way, Oscar Piastri was only a tenth of a second behind me, and he's only eighth. But I'm glad to be starting ahead of him. If we talk about tomorrow's race, it's very important to get through Turn 1 cleanly and complete the first lap.
George Russell will start in Mexico from fourth position and says the qualifying results slightly surprise him. Kimi Antonelli is a bit upset — he says he couldn't find the right rhythm, although in the end the Italian Mercedes driver posted the eighth-fastest time.
George Russell (4th): "The results are somewhat surprising, because usually if we qualify behind two Ferraris we're more likely to be around fifth or sixth, but right now we're fourth. It's a pretty decent result, and although we couldn't catch the top three, we were only a little way off. By the way, Oscar Piastri was only a tenth of a second behind me, and he's only eighth. But I'm glad to be starting ahead of him. If we talk about tomorrow's race, it's very important to get through Turn 1 cleanly and complete the first lap.
Hajar: I'm pleased with how we handled it.
At Racing Bulls, after an unlucky Friday they decided to completely strip down the car in an attempt to turn things around, and it worked — Isaac Hadjar made it to the final…
Isaac Hadjar (9th): "I'm very happy with the team and with how we handled Friday's problems. Overnight we rebuilt the car, made a few changes, and it paid off. I put in some good runs and reached the qualifying final, and in the race I want to score points.
There can be different scenarios in the first corner, because in Mexico it is quite far from the starting grid. We have to take any opportunity to make up ground."
Liam Lawson (15th): "The car was quick today; I got through the first part of qualifying fine, but in the second part we had balance issues and a mistake on the first lap made things a lot more complicated.
At Racing Bulls, after an unlucky Friday they decided to completely strip down the car in an attempt to turn things around, and it worked — Isaac Hadjar made it to the final…
Isaac Hadjar (9th): "I'm very happy with the team and with how we handled Friday's problems. Overnight we rebuilt the car, made a few changes, and it paid off. I put in some good runs and reached the qualifying final, and in the race I want to score points.
There can be different scenarios in the first corner, because in Mexico it is quite far from the starting grid. We have to take any opportunity to make up ground."
Liam Lawson (15th): "The car was quick today; I got through the first part of qualifying fine, but in the second part we had balance issues and a mistake on the first lap made things a lot more complicated.
Carlos Sainz: I'm confident in the race pace.
Carlos Sainz set the seventh fastest time in qualifying for the Mexico Grand Prix, but the Williams driver will drop five places on the grid as a penalty for colliding with Kimi Antonelli at the previous round in Austin. Nevertheless, Carlos is confident that the car's pace will be enough to fight for points.
His teammate Alex Albon had an unlucky session, and due to a lack of grip he failed to advance to the second part of qualifying.
Carlos Sainz (7th): "That was probably the best qualifying lap I've had all season. I'm happy with the car's behaviour, and I approached qualifying feeling very confident, but now we need to focus on the race. It's a shame I'll be losing places because of the penalty, as starting further back will make the race harder, since cooling problems can arise in dirty air. However, I'm confident in the race pace and intend to fight for points.
Carlos Sainz set the seventh fastest time in qualifying for the Mexico Grand Prix, but the Williams driver will drop five places on the grid as a penalty for colliding with Kimi Antonelli at the previous round in Austin. Nevertheless, Carlos is confident that the car's pace will be enough to fight for points.
His teammate Alex Albon had an unlucky session, and due to a lack of grip he failed to advance to the second part of qualifying.
Carlos Sainz (7th): "That was probably the best qualifying lap I've had all season. I'm happy with the car's behaviour, and I approached qualifying feeling very confident, but now we need to focus on the race. It's a shame I'll be losing places because of the penalty, as starting further back will make the race harder, since cooling problems can arise in dirty air. However, I'm confident in the race pace and intend to fight for points.
At Pirelli they expect one pit stop.
Having assessed tyre behaviour and the track conditions, Pirelli expects the traditional one-stop strategy in today's race…
Mario Isola, Pirelli's Head of Motorsport: "The track conditions and tyre degradation in FP3, when the race simulation was run, were very similar to what we saw on Friday, but in qualifying the track improved and the results matched our calculations. The characteristics of the C5 were clearly visible in qualifying. Those drivers who made it to the first corner after the long, more-than‑1 km straight with the front tyres at the right temperature definitely benefited from a well-balanced car and gained an advantage. Managing the temperature of the rear tyres in the final sector was key to gaining a few more tenths. The few drivers who managed to set their best time on the second flying lap owed that to the improved track condition.
Having assessed tyre behaviour and the track conditions, Pirelli expects the traditional one-stop strategy in today's race…
Mario Isola, Pirelli's Head of Motorsport: "The track conditions and tyre degradation in FP3, when the race simulation was run, were very similar to what we saw on Friday, but in qualifying the track improved and the results matched our calculations. The characteristics of the C5 were clearly visible in qualifying. Those drivers who made it to the first corner after the long, more-than‑1 km straight with the front tyres at the right temperature definitely benefited from a well-balanced car and gained an advantage. Managing the temperature of the rear tyres in the final sector was key to gaining a few more tenths. The few drivers who managed to set their best time on the second flying lap owed that to the improved track condition.
Former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes that McLaren cannot break the "papaya rule" by switching to support only one of its drivers, because equal treatment is written into their contracts.
Juan Pablo Montoya: "The team cannot ask one driver to help another, because the drivers' contracts state that, as long as they are still mathematically in contention, the team cannot ask them to assist their teammate.
Obviously, instructions favoring one of the drivers in the title fight are different from orders to help the team, which the contract obliges them to follow. I'm talking about the standard set of tools: swapping positions if one car has a better strategy, not holding each other up, preserving positions at the finish to avoid risking retirement. Although even that can in principle be used without directly saying 'help your teammate win the title'."
Juan Pablo Montoya: "The team cannot ask one driver to help another, because the drivers' contracts state that, as long as they are still mathematically in contention, the team cannot ask them to assist their teammate.
Obviously, instructions favoring one of the drivers in the title fight are different from orders to help the team, which the contract obliges them to follow. I'm talking about the standard set of tools: swapping positions if one car has a better strategy, not holding each other up, preserving positions at the finish to avoid risking retirement. Although even that can in principle be used without directly saying 'help your teammate win the title'."
Vasseur: We've been quick since the start of the weekend, which makes things easier.
On Saturday in Mexico, Ferrari put in its best qualifying performance of the season: Charles Leclerc posted the second-fastest time, Lewis Hamilton — third. Naturally, such results pleased both the Italian team's fans and its boss.
Frédéric Vasseur: "First of all, it's important to fully enjoy the qualifying result, because it was a good session — possibly our best since the start of the year. But the main thing is that we showed strong performance in all three parts of qualifying, so we'll see how things go in the race, especially since on this track there is a very long run-up to Turn 1.
On Saturday in Mexico, Ferrari put in its best qualifying performance of the season: Charles Leclerc posted the second-fastest time, Lewis Hamilton — third. Naturally, such results pleased both the Italian team's fans and its boss.
Frédéric Vasseur: "First of all, it's important to fully enjoy the qualifying result, because it was a good session — possibly our best since the start of the year. But the main thing is that we showed strong performance in all three parts of qualifying, so we'll see how things go in the race, especially since on this track there is a very long run-up to Turn 1.