Perez and Piastri suffer shocking Q1 eliminations of Mexico GP

Red Bull’s home hero Sergio Perez and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri have been knocked out of qualifying for the Mexico Grand Prix. 

Feature image credit: Red Bull Content Pool

Two big names have been knocked out of qualifying; Sergio Perez and Oscar Piastri. Both drivers were amongst the slowest five in the first third of qualifying for the Mexico GP. 

Perez was reporting, mid-session, that he was having trouble braking in the slow corners. Despite having the home crowd pushing him along all weekend, the Mexican driver was not able to maximise the performance of the car. 

It stands as the Mexican’s first time that he has not qualified inside the top five on home soil whilst driving for Red Bull Racing. 

Piastri, on the other hand, locked up on his first timed lap – on the medium compounds – before having his next timed lap, on the softs, deleted for track limits. 

❌ ELIMINATED IN Q1 ❌

Colapinto
Piastri
Perez
Ocon
Zhou

Two of the big hitters OUT at the first hurdle! 😱#F1 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/OMlUZjQeB6

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 26, 2024

This marks the first time this season that Piastri – who was fastest in FP3 – has failed to get out of Q1. 

In the last laps, Piastri and Perez were only just able to jump out of the elimination zone but both drivers were out-qualified by others and re-entered the knock-out area. 

As the chequered flag fell, Piastri and Perez qualified 17th and 18th respectively – at least. 

Importantly, for the constructors championship, the McLaren and Red Bull drivers have been knocked out together meaning strategy will be even more important as McLaren looks to secure their first championship win since 1998.

Read more Formula 1 here:

• Piastri tops undisturbed final practice ahead of Norris at Mexico GP
• FIA reject McLaren’s right of review following US GP penalty
• Sainz tops extended Mexico GP FP2 as Russell has heavy crash
• Russell fastest ahead of Sainz in dramatic F1 Mexico GP FP1 session
• Weather Report: The latest forecast at the Mexico Grand Prix
• Winners and Losers of Formula 1’s 2024 US Grand Prix

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.