MEXICO CITY – Max Verstappen secured his second Formula One pole of the season in an upset performance Saturday at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

It appeared as if one of the Ferrari cars – driven by Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc – would sit on the pole for Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix, but Verstappen made sure that wasn’t going to happen.

During the final qualifying session Verstappen roared to a stunning 1:14.758 lap, which gave him the track record by a scant .001 seconds. Shortly thereafter Valtteri Bottas crashed his Mercedes in the final corner, bringing the qualifying session to a premature end.

That meant Verstappen, the two-time and defending Mexican Grand Prix winner, had earned his second pole of the season for Red Bull.

Behind him, Leclerc qualified second for Ferrari with his best lap of 1:15.024. He was closely followed by his teammate Vettel, with championship leader Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Alexander Albon fourth and fifth.

Bottas ended up sixth despite his crash in Q3, followed by the McLaren duo of Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lando Norris. Toro Rosso drivers Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly completed the top-10 in qualifying.