Ricciardo wins pole at Mexican GP

Mexico City — Daniel Ricciardo's smile beamed its brightest in months, while his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen steamed.

Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, looked completely comfortable knowing he's in a perfect spot to win his fifth career Formula One championship.

Ricciardo snatched the pole position from Verstappen at the end of a sizzling round of qualifying at the Mexican Grand Prix on Saturday, setting up a Red Bull fight from the front row as both drivers duel for the team's third win of the season.

"I knew the pace was in the car," Ricciardo said. "I've got to relax a little ... I need to save a little serenity for tomorrow."

Hamilton will start third, knowing he can let the Red Bull cars go off and running while he coasts his Mercedes to the finish line. A seventh-place finish will secure the British driver's fifth career title, matching the late Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina for second most in F1 history. Only Germany's Michael Schumacher has more with seven.

Hamilton missed his chance to win the title last week at the U.S. Grand Prix when he finished third.

"To be as close as I am, I'm really quite happy," Hamilton said. "I'm just praying for a smooth and safe race."

The 1-2 start will be the first for Red Bull since the start of the hybrid engine era in 2014. Still, the 21-year-old Verstappen was fuming after missing his chance to be the youngest driver to earn pole position in F1 history. He lost it by 0.026 seconds.

Verstappen said his car didn't feel right despite fast times in Saturday morning practice and the early stages of qualifying.

"I felt like I couldn't push the car to its limit," Verstappen said. "I didn't feel good at all."

The Red Bulls came in expecting to be strong in the high altitude at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Verstappen is the defending race champion and dominated the three rounds of practice.