Lewis Hamilton has claimed his first pole position for Ferrari and his first for more than three years at the Mexico City Grand Prix. The seven-time F1 champion beat Mercedes driver George Russell by just 0.009 seconds as the two drivers who can potentially stop Kimi Antonelli clinching the world title on Sunday locked out the front row.
Qualifying Results and Title Scenarios
Antonelli qualified fifth behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, but will start fourth because of a one-place penalty for the Dutchman. The only way Antonelli can be prevented from winning the title on Sunday is if Russell wins and the Italian finishes lower than ninth, or if Hamilton wins and Antonelli is out of the points.
Hamilton’s pole is his first since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, marking a gap of three years and three months, and represents the 105th pole of his career. He is also the oldest driver to secure a pole position since Mario Andretti drove for Ferrari at the 1982 Italian Grand Prix.
Both Hamilton and Russell went out early for their first runs and watched as their rivals attempted and failed to beat their times. Leclerc went first, falling short of Hamilton by 0.119 seconds, while Antonelli was never on target. Verstappen looked set to take pole after recording the fastest time in the first two sectors, but he locked up into the hairpin in the stadium section and ruined his lap.
“Oh man, I’m lost for words,” said Hamilton, reflecting on a challenging weekend that included an engine issue the previous day that limited his long-run practice. “We’ve done a really good job on the setup and to have pole here, wow, it feels special. It’s my first pole for Ferrari, and 105th, I like that number. To have your first Ferrari pole, it takes me back to watching Michael [Schumacher] get all those poles when he was at Ferrari and all those wins.”
Hamilton had been only fourth after the initial runs, more than 0.4 seconds behind Leclerc’s pace-setting time. However, on his final run, he stated he did not think he lost any time anywhere and described it as a super-good lap.
Rivals React to Qualifying Drama
Russell expressed happiness at ending a difficult run of form, though he could not explain the turnaround. He took a unilateral decision not to do a preparation lap after his out lap on his final run, going against his team’s insistence and the extra fuel they had added. While acknowledging the time loss from the extra weight was smaller than the gap to pole, he stated he was simply happy to be on the front row.
Verstappen attributed his time loss to traffic from another car. He explained that a car close to him going into Turn 12 caused him to lose time in dirty air, and an awkward angle at the hairpin due to another car on his right ruined his reference points and killed his lap. Despite the disappointment, he noted that the most promising aspect was how Red Bull turned the car around after a difficult practice session.
McLaren driver Lando Norris had looked strong after setting the pace in the second session and finishing third fastest on the first runs in Q3, but he failed to improve on his final lap and settled for sixth. He admitted he was simply not quick enough and that his Q1 pace was unrealistic to repeat in Q3, though he remained happy with his performance.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls pair Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, and Alpine driver Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10. Lawson was later disqualified from qualifying due to an infringement of technical regulations concerning the electrical deployment of the power unit, meaning he will start from the back of the grid.
Fernando Alonso appeared poised for his best qualifying result of the season for Aston Martin after going fastest on his first lap. However, his engine suffered a water leak in the energy recovery system as he began his second attempt while sitting in third, prompting his team to order him to stop the car on track.
Alonso’s frustration was evident in a post-qualifying television interview where he answered four questions with a total of nine words. He confirmed the engine issue, acknowledged it was a good opportunity, agreed the car looked strong all weekend, but noted he could achieve nothing in the race starting from the back.
