Carlos Sainz took Pole in Mexico with over two tenths back to Max Verstappen. Securing a banker lap good enough for Pole was critical to this, as it allowed him to push the limits even more while Verstappen was forced into a cautious approach to his final run after his first Q3 lap was deleted for track limits.

Carlos was keen to emphasise that both of his laps showed impressive pace, with him describing them as “pretty much identical” and “almost perfect” post-qualifying.

Ferrari are on an uptick of form and seemed to have carried their momentum from a 1-2 finish in Austin last time out, with Carlos especially feeling this.

“Definitely since Austin we’ve done, it seems like, especially on my side, a step up also in qualifying, trying to find something extra with the out lap and the tyre preparation,” he said, “it seems like we are going in the right direction.”

This places Carlos in contention for another win with the Scuderia before his time in red comes to an end, as Lewis Hamilton takes his seat into 2025 and Sainz takes up a drive at Williams, something he said was “sweet” yet “bittersweet”.

“It gives me a feeling Ferrari might be in the fight for the World Championship next year and I will not be there to use it,” he said. “And I feel like I’ve been quite a big part of this team during the last four years trying to prepare the team to fight for that championship next year”.

“The fact that I’m driving well, being fast with the car and I’m living in five races is definitely leaves me a bit… I don’t know how to say it, but not with a very good feeling.”

Despite this, Carlos’ aim to to win more races and use this purple patch Ferrari are in to “stand on the podium for as long as [he] can during these five races and enjoy that.”