Lewis Hamilton captured his 105th career Grand Prix pole on Saturday, edging out George Russell by just 0.009 seconds to lead the Mexico City Grand Prix starting grid.
Hamilton clinches first Ferrari pole
The British driver’s pole marks his first at a Grand Prix weekend with Ferrari, adding to 26 poles earned while with McLaren and 78 with Mercedes. He had previously started from pole in a sprint race at Silverstone earlier this season.
In the final qualifying session, he initially set a single lap early in Q3, then returned for a second run. That effort lifted him from fourth place, 0.422 seconds behind provisional pole-sitter Charles Leclerc, to the top spot. Leclerc will line up third, behind Russell.
“Oh man, I’m lost for words,” he said after the session. “It’s been a really, really tough, challenging weekend. Obviously, P1, we had a rake running, and we obviously then had the engine issue we had yesterday, which meant that we were just on the back foot.” He added that the team’s setup work over the weekend had paid off.
Read Also: Toyota unveils off-road makeover for family models
The team employed five sets of soft tires to reach the pole position, a strategy that could give rivals a fresh tire advantage at the race start. “And for example, Q2, I didn’t get my lap at the beginning. Ferrari did run through five sets of soft tires to get to Hamilton’s maiden pole, meaning that the competitors around him and Leclerc will have an advantage at the start of Sunday’s Grand Prix,” he said.
Full grid for the Mexico City race
Max Verstappen posted the fourth-fastest time but will start fifth after a one-place grid penalty for a crash in the stadium section during Friday’s practice. He locked up on his final lap in turn 13, losing a potential front-row start.
Kimi Antonelli qualified fifth and will line up fourth; he needs a ninth-place finish to clinch the 2026 World Drivers’ Championship. Lando Norris abandoned his second lap in Q3 after a strong opening sector and will start sixth.
Isack Hadjar will occupy seventh on the grid, ahead of the two Racing Bulls entries. Liam Lawson drops from eighth to ninth due to his penalty, while teammate Arvid Lindblad moves up. Pierre Gasly secured tenth, becoming the last driver to reach Q3.
