MEXICO CITY -- Sebastian Vettel had to dig deep to record his 50th career pole position.
Approaching the end of Q3 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez it seemed Max Verstappen was on course for a maiden career pole after a brilliant 1:16.574 early in the session. But Vettel turned in a brilliant lap of his own as the clock , edging the Dutchman by just 0.08s.
Ferrari's pace had still been something of a mystery coming into the session and Vettel was not convinced Verstappen was beatable in Q3.
When asked about reaching the 50 poles landmark, Vettel said: "I don't know really what to say, it is a big number and I am very very happy with today.