Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will start the Mexican Grand Prix from pole position after Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was relegated from P1 and handed a three-place penalty for failing to slow for a waved yellow warning flag in qualifying.

The drop means the front row will now be a Ferrari lockout, with Sebastian Vettel joining his teammate Leclerc in what will be the Italian team’s sixth successive pole.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton will start from third as he attempts to secure a sixth world championship in Mexico.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo qualified 13th in another tough qualifying outing in his Renault.

Verstappen, the two-time defending race champion, had pulled out a stunning lap to dislodge Ferrari, but he did it while driving past the crashed car of Valtteri Bottas, who was just ahead of him when he went into the wall in the final sector.

Verstappen was punished for failing to slow under yellow flags after Bottas’s last-corner crash.

Race stewards imposed the penalty more than three hours after qualifying ended.

Briton Hamilton must finish at least on the podium on Sunday to stand any chance of taking the title.

Hamilton needs to outscore Mercedes teammate Bottas, who will start from sixth despite sustaining extensive damage to his car, by 14 points.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said the team are 90 per cent confident they will be able to fix the Finn’s machine without incurring any penalties for new parts.