Nine thousandths decide it
Lewis Hamilton has his first pole position for Ferrari, and he needed every last bit of it. In qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix he beat George Russell’s Mercedes by 0.009 seconds. At 41, he is the oldest polesitter in 44 years, and it is his first pole from the front of the grid since Hungary in 2023, number 105 of his career.
Charles Leclerc starts third. Kimi Antonelli is fourth on the grid. Max Verstappen qualified fourth on the road but drops to fifth after a one-place penalty for a collision with Liam Lawson in second practice. He was ahead after two sectors of his last Q3 lap before locking up at the final slow corner.
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Antonelli’s title math
The pole is the headline, but the championship is the story for Sunday. Antonelli, 20, can become the youngest world champion in F1 history. If Hamilton or Russell wins the race, he needs to finish ninth or better. If neither of them wins, he clinches the title whatever his result. He won pole and the race in Austin a week ago and arrived in Mexico unwell, skipping Thursday’s media duties. He called himself a bit tense and not fully recovered.
Drama further down
Lando Norris starts sixth, with Isack Hadjar and Arvid Lindblad in the top eight after Lawson was disqualified for a minimum MGU-K power breach. Lawson will start from the back. Oscar Piastri was knocked out in Q2 and lines up 13th, while Fernando Alonso went out in Q1 after a water pressure fault caused a red flag. Ryo Hirakawa, in for the dropped Esteban Ocon at Haas, made his qualifying debut and took 19th.
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