Hamilton Takes First Ferrari Pole by 0.009s in Mexico City

Lewis Hamilton's long wait for a first pole position with Ferrari is over. The seven-time world champion produced a stunning final lap of 1 minute 16.514 seconds in qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix on Saturday, beating former Mercedes team-mate George Russell by just 0.009 seconds. It is Hamilton's 105th career pole, his first since Hungary in 2023, and at 41 he becomes the oldest driver to start from pole since Mario Andretti at the 1982 Italian Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc, who had held provisional pole after the first runs in Q3, finished third, 0.119 seconds behind his team-mate, after only a slight improvement on his final attempt. Max Verstappen locked up at Turn 13 and qualified fourth but will drop to fifth on the grid after a penalty carried over from his practice incident with Liam Lawson. That promotes championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who qualified fifth, to fourth; Antonelli will seal his first world title on Sunday if he finishes ninth or higher. Lando Norris was sixth, ahead of Isack Hadjar, Lawson, Arvid Lindblad and Pierre Gasly, with Lawson's own penalty swapping him with Lindblad. The session's biggest shock came in Q2, where Oscar Piastri was eliminated in 13th, while Fernando Alonso went out in Q1.