MEXICO CITY -- Sebastian Vettel returned Ferrari to the front of the grid with a storming lap of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Saturday afternoon as Max Verstappen starred and championship leader Lewis Hamilton had to settle for third. Here are the main talking points from the session.
Shock: McLaren's pace was a genuine surprise. Alonso was 0.3s down on Lewis Hamilton in Q1 and his time in that session would have seen him finish Q2 in seventh had McLaren taken part. The team didn't because of the hefty grid penalties facing both drivers on Sunday -- another sign of what the team could be achieving with a more reliable power unit inside the car.
Shocker: Haas has had an utterly miserable weekend so far. The team had been braced to struggle in Mexico and lost track time on Friday when Romain Grosjean's tyre dramatically delaminated after a spin. But despite the problems it surely wasn't expecting to qualify behind both Saubers -- a team running a Ferrari engine one year older than its own. A lot of work is needed on Sunday to salvage anything from the race.
Eyes on the stewards (again): Max Verstappen ended the session on the front row but will have to visit the stewards before finding out whether he will start there. Valtteri Bottas missed his braking point for Turn 13 after coming across Verstappen's during his early run in Q3 as the Red Bull driver warmed his tyres for his own flying lap.
Pre-empting 2018: You could be forgiven for making the joke that Toro Rosso is doing all it can to prepare Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly for 2018 -- including engine failures. While Gasly failed to compete in the session after hitting trouble in FP3, Hartley slowed to a stop after progressing to Q2 for the first time. Toro Rosso is switching from Renault to Honda power next year so this might well be a sign of things to come.
Records remain: Sebastian Vettel didn't just beat Max Verstappen to pole, he also stopped the Dutchman breaking his record for youngest pole-sitter in F1 (set at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix). Verstappen still has time on his side to do it but for most of Q3 it appeared the 20-year-old would be adding another statistic to an already-impressive resume.
Déjà vu?: Vettel and Verstappen clashed in Mexico last year, with the Ferrari driver so furious at the youngster's driving that he lost his mind over the radio -- eventually telling FIA race director Charlie Whiting to "f--- off" when he refused to tell Verstappen to move over after using the Turn 1 run off to hold position. The two drivers have a colourful history together and the prospect of them racing down to the opening corner again on Sunday is a tantalising one.
Lewis well placed: We've come to expect brilliance from Hamilton on Saturdays of late but in Mexico he had to settle for third position. Given that he only needs to finish fifth this weekend to secure the title, that is hardly a disaster. But it also seems to confirm Mercedes' expectations coming into the weekend that it would struggle to match the pace of Ferrari and Red Bull on another high-downforce circuit. However, the three-time world champion is determined to win a fourth title by winning the race, so don't expect to see him adopting a conservative approach off the line on Sunday.
Turn 1: The new, daunting kerbs at Turn 1 are a reminder of how seriously the FIA is taking track limits this weekend. The kerbs were always planned after the controversy of last year mentioned above, but the topic is fresh in the minds of most after the U.S. Grand Prix. The corner could catch any driver out during the race but they also create an added level of drama when 20 cars approach from the start on Sunday afternoon.
Driver of the day: Verstappen edges this one. The Dutchman made a genuine fight of it with a series of scintillating laps and Vettel had to dig deep to beat him. He constantly reminds us of his talent and qualified a massive 0.9s quicker than Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo.