Berlin, 29 October 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Charles Leclerc of Ferrari has taken a surprise pole position ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz for the Formula One Mexican Grand Prix.

Lerclerc set the fastest time of 1 minute 17.166 on Saturday to claim his fourth pole position this season, beating Sainz by 0.067 second and champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull by 0.097 second.

Ferrari had a terrible third practice session earlier on Saturday with both Leclerc (13th) and Sainz (15th) out of the top 10.

"To be honest I did not expect to be on pole position today, I thought we were lacking in FP3," Leclerc said.

"We've had pretty good pace all weekend, but I'm not sure if it will be enough to challenge for the win. First place here I'm not sure is the best starting place."

Sainz was also surprised with the team's performance saying he struggled the whole weekend to put a lap together.

"And the first lap I've put together is the first one in Q3. I struggle to understand, but we manage to put together a good lap when it counted," he said.

Leclerc will now try to spoil Verstappen's attempt to claim a single season record 16th win this season in Sunday's race. The Dutchman didn't manage to beat the time set by the Ferrari cars in his second flying lap.

"It's very difficult, it's very low grip around here because of the altitude. The last sector we were struggling a little bit more than we liked, but it is a long race, a lot of laps to be raced. I would have liked to start first, but we'll have a good slipstream down to Turn 1," the Red Bull driver said.

Verstappen, however, will be investigated after the session for holding back the other drivers at the pit exit in Q1. George Russell of Mercedes is also under investigation for the same reason and both drivers could receive penalties and lose positions.

Several other drivers are also to be investigated after the session, but none of the Ferrari men are among them. The final qualifying result before potential penalties saw Daniel Ricciardo of Alpha Tauri in fourth, his best performance this season.

Ricciardo, who made his comeback at the United States Grand Prix last weekend after a hand injury, was ahead of home favourite Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull.

Perez is reportedly at risk of losing his seat next season and Ricciardo, a former Red Bull driver, would be among the favourite candidates to replace him.

Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes was sixth, but he's also under investigation for failing to slow for yellow flags. Oscar Piastri of McLaren was seventh, while Russell and the Alfa Romeo cars of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu completed the top 10.

Verstappen, who claimed a third consecutive title earlier this month at the Qatar GP, holds the record for most F1 wins in a season with his 15 victories in 2022.

His Red Bull team have also already sealed a second straight constructors' championship as team and driver have dominated the season.

Red Bull missed the highest place on the podium only once in 18 races so far this year, when Sainz won the Singapore GP last month.

Photo: EPA