Lewis Hamilton, USA News (Mexico City): Lewis Hamilton has claimed the pole position for the Mexico Grand Prix with Ferrari by nine thousandths of a second over George Russell. This marks his first grand prix pole with the red racing suit and his first start from the front since Hungary 2023 when he was still driving for Mercedes.
The British driver, now 41 years old, will start Sunday from the front at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. It is the 105th pole position of his career, extending his historic Formula 1 record. Ferrari entered Mexico with the tag of favorites, though Hamilton lost track time during Friday’s second practice due to a technical problem while Charles Leclerc led the timesheets. By Saturday morning, that apparent advantage had faded as Leclerc finished third and Hamilton sixth in final practice.
During qualifying, Hamilton topped Q1, while Max Verstappen outpaced both Ferraris in Q2 alongside Lando Norris. In the first run of Q3, Leclerc set the pace ahead of Verstappen, with Hamilton fourth after an error in the middle sector. On the final run, Russell briefly went provisional first before Hamilton responded with a lap time of 1:16.514, beating the Mercedes driver by just nine thousandths of a second. Leclerc failed to hook up his final lap, and Verstappen encountered traffic with Norris, resulting in a locked brake and a missed braking reference.
Grid Lineup and Qualifying Penalties
The final classification places Hamilton on the front row, Russell second, Leclerc third, and Verstappen fourth. However, Verstappen will drop one position to start fifth due to a penalty. Over team radio after securing the pole, Hamilton expressed his gratitude for the long wait, later describing the achievement to reporters as a difficult weekend where he was left speechless.
According to data from Sky Sports, Hamilton stands as the oldest pole-sitter in 44 years. Elsewhere in the qualifying session, Fernando Alonso exited in Q1 after his Aston Martin suffered a water pressure issue that brought out a red flag. Liam Lawson qualified eighth but was disqualified for failing to meet the minimum power output of the MGU-K on his fastest Q2 lap, dropping him to the back of the grid and promoting Arvid Lindblad to eighth, with Pierre Gasly and Nico Hülkenberg rounding out the top ten. Oscar Piastri exited in Q2 to start thirteenth.
Ryo Hirakawa placed nineteenth in his first Formula 1 qualifying session, stepping in after Esteban Ocon was sidelined following a disagreement with team boss Ayao Komatsu on Friday night. Meanwhile, Kimi Antonelli enters the race weekend with a chance to secure the championship at age twenty, needing only a ninth-place finish if neither Russell nor Hamilton wins the grand prix.
