Max Verstappen was hugely disappointed after qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix. The Dutchman looked on course for pole position but missed out after being held up by Lando Norris, subsequently locking up and abandoning his lap.

Verstappen was furious with Norris immediately after the lap and explained what he believed had happened following qualifying. "Yeah, well, I arrived at Turn 12 and saw that there was still a car ahead of me. That already costs you time. I was affected by the dirty air. Then I also saw a car parked on the right, which is not what you want in that corner," Verstappen began.

"By the time I got to Turn 13, I was already taking a slightly different line as a result. You lose your reference points. You always have certain markers that you use to judge your braking. But if there’s a car there, you can’t see them. When you’re driving on the limit in qualifying and all those things change, while the angle at which you approach the corner is different too, you’re bound to go off your line.”

Verstappen pleased with Red Bull’s progress in Mexico

Verstappen was pleased with the progress Red Bull had made ahead of qualifying in Mexico. "It mattered because we had made progress leading up to qualifying. It was a messy session, but it is what it is. My grip during practice was much worse than it was in qualifying, so there wasn’t much to complain about."

Verstappen expects a tough race tomorrow. "It’s going to be very hot. We’ll need to keep a close eye on the engine in particular." Because of his grid penalty, Verstappen will start one place further back.

“That’s just how it goes. You can agree with it or not. The same applies to many other sports. You can agree with a decision or not; that’s your own opinion. That is my personal opinion, at least. But on the other hand, it has already been discussed extensively, both in the media and by the people involved.”

Verstappen does not know how the engine will respond to the heat. “We don’t know. It’s impossible to know. The temperatures here always make it very difficult to assess the situation properly, but we also need to see what the pace will be like.” The Dutchman had problems with his radio last week, but they seem to have been resolved now. "It was working fine today."