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. I also want to thank the local fans. Their support is really special — it's just incredible to drive around the track and hear them cheering!"

      Alex Albon (17th): "Track conditions changed a lot between FP3 and qualifying, and because of that I had less grip in qualifying. I've been trying all weekend to find the optimal setup, but I still haven't felt comfortable in the car. In qualifying the car was sliding constantly, and I couldn't get the necessary grip from it. Before qualifying we made some changes, but during the session we had to deal with a potential brake problem. We have a lot to analyze and discuss with the team to understand where we can find performance. The race in Mexico usually runs with one pit stop, but we'll see what happens on Sunday. I hope to finish in a higher position than I start."