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The smile of DANIEL Ricciardo was the brightest of months after he learned that he had beaten his teammate Max Verstappen to pole position Mexico. His teammate was less excited about the state of "shit" of his car.
The Australian has long waited seven withdrawals in 18 races this year and his long and triumphant blackmail on the team's radio, as well as a typically colorful language afterwards, have said it all.
"I'm doing a major backpack right now … shout at the team to get a one-two," Ricciardo said.
"I remember a lot, I let out a little when I heard that I was pole."
"I have a lot of restraint, I have to save energy for tomorrow, just super happy, it's been a while since the pole."
Verstappen was rather less excited.
Smoking after missing out on his chance to be the youngest driver to win pole position in the history of F1. He lost it by 0.026 seconds.
He said his car was not feeling good despite the good qualifying time on Saturday morning and qualifying start.
Max Verstappen looked shot down after qualifying
"The whole qualification was shit," said the Dutchman deflated. "We had the same problems of practice.
"We tried to make the most of the situation and I thought that would be enough for pole position to solve the problems we had."
The Red Bulls expected to be strong at high altitude on the Autodrome Hermanos Rodriguez. Verstappen is the reigning champion of the race and has dominated the three test heats.
He again burned the qualifications by qualifying until Ricciardo clinched his third career pole and a first since his victory in Monaco in May. Verstappen was still on the track but his last lap was too slow.
Ricciardo's efforts have put in place what could be the last best chance to win for Red Bull. He leaves the team for Renault in 2019.
Verstappen and Ricciardo will have to decide how much they will fight for the victory. Both men had a costly collision at the Azerbaijani Grand Prix, which put both cars out of the race. Both drivers were reprimanded for dangerous running movements and tensions within the team were high.
"Our priority now must be to try to convert these fantastic grid positions into a handful of points tomorrow," Horner said. "The team worked very hard for that, so it's crucial that we get the most out of it."
HAMILTON CLOSING IN TITLE
Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, looked completely comfortable knowing that he was in an ideal position to win his fifth career Formula 1 championship.
Hamilton will start third, knowing that he can let Red Bull cars run while his Mercedes drives up to the finish line. A seventh place will secure the fifth career title of the British, matching the late Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina in second place in the history of F1. Only Germany's Michael Schumacher has more with seven.
Hamilton missed his chance to win the title last week at the American Grand Prix when he finished third.
"To be as close as I am, I am really very happy," said Hamilton. "I just pray for a run smoothly and safely."
Hamilton said he would like to win a victory to punctuate a championship of the season, but he does not give himself much luck to do so on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton congratulates Daniel Ricciardo after his pole
"These guys (Red Bull) are in a league of their own," said Hamilton. He will want to be careful from the start, as cars thunder in the long-term opening until the first corner.
This would normally be a chance for Mercedes and Ferrari to flex their power in a straight line, but this could also lead to a wild start of collisions and blast cars in the runoff areas to avoid them. Hamilton started third last year and Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari punctured a tire in the first corner. Hamilton finished in ninth place, but still won the title of the season.
Vettel is leaving Sunday behind and must win if he has any hope of extending the championship to the next race in Brazil.
"You saw what happened last year with the red car behind me," Hamilton said. "Everyone will start in the first round, if there is an opportunity and an opportunity to grab it, I will grab it, otherwise I will maintain my position."
HOW THEY START
1st line Daniel Ricciardo (AUS / Red Bull) Max Verstappen (NED / Red Bull)
2nd row: Lewis Hamilton (GBR / Mercedes) Sebastian Vettel (GER / Ferrari)
3rd row: Valtteri Bottas (FIN / Mercedes) Kimi Raikkonen (FIN / Ferrari)
4th row: Nico Hulkenberg (GER / Renault) Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP / Renault)
5th row: Charles Leclerc (MON / Sauber) Marcus Ericsson (SWE / Sauber)
6th row: Esteban Ocon (FRA / Force India) Fernando Alonso (ESP / McLaren)
7th row: Sergio Perez (MEX / Force India) Brendon Hartley (NZL / Toro Rosso)
8th row: Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL / McLaren) Kevin Magnussen (DEN / Haas)
9th row: Lance Stroll (CAN / Williams) Romain Grosjean (FRA / Haas)
10th row: Sergey Sirotkin (RUS / Williams) Pierre Gasly (FRA / Toro Rosso)
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