Lewis Hamilton was made to settle for third on the grid in Mexico as Sebastian Vettel kept his slim world championship hopes alive by storming to pole position.
Max Verstappen appeared on course to become Formula One’s youngest ever pole sitter only for Vettel to beat the Red Bull driver with the final lap of a dramatic qualifying session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Vettel, who trails Hamilton by 66 points with just three grands prix remaining, must finish either first or second in Sunday’s race to stand any chance of taking the championship battle on to the penultimate round in Brazil.
But despite Hamilton’s relatively lowly grid slot the Englishman needs to cross the line only fifth to seal his fourth crown on Sunday.