Sky analyst praises Verstappen: 'He's got the job done again'

Analyst and former Formula One driver Paul di Resta had words of praise for Max Verstappen after the Dutchman took pole in qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix. In the afterthought on Sky Sports, Di Resta analysed how Verstappen managed to take first place.

Qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix did not go smoothly for Verstappen. The now two-time world champion did manage to take pole position, but the Mercedes drivers made it very difficult for him. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton briefly looked set to win, but in the end, Verstappen managed to improve their times by three-tenths of a second.

But according to Di Resta, there was no outcome other than Verstappen taking pole. The British analyst saw Verstappen making the difference through a slightly different approach in the first three corners and a cautious line at turn 12. "He's been calculated about his lap. You cannot take anything away from Max, people say the Red Bull car is where it is, but he's got the job done again. He's put himself in that position after being on the back foot."

Hamilton's first lap in Q3 was dropped

Hamilton started the third part of qualifying with a setback, as his lap time was deleted for exceeding the track limits. According to Di Resta, this affected Hamilton's results, as it would have caused Hamilton to drive more cautiously in the rest of the session. Di Resta would have liked Hamilton to have been just a bit closer to Verstappen's time so that it would have been just a bit more exciting.