Lewis Hamilton has secured his first Grand Prix pole position for Ferrari with a superb final lap in qualifying for the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion produced a 1:16.514 in the closing moments of Q3, beating George Russell’s Mercedes to first place, while Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc finished third after making a mistake on his final attempt.
It was a remarkable turnaround for Lewis Hamilton, whose Mexican Grand Prix weekend had been disrupted by a technical problem during free practice. The British driver also needed an additional run on fresh tyres in Q2 following a mistake, but recovered when it mattered most, delivering his fastest lap on the final attempt of qualifying.
George Russell secured second place after extracting an excellent lap from his Mercedes on his final run, moving ahead of Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque had initially set the pace in Q3 with a 1:16.647, but an error on his second attempt prevented him from improving and challenging his teammate for pole.
Max Verstappen qualified fourth after a frustrating final session. The Red Bull driver appeared capable of fighting for pole position, but traffic contributed to a mistake during his last Q3 attempt. He is also due to receive a one-place grid penalty following his contact with Liam Lawson during free practice.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished qualifying fifth, having never appeared particularly close to fighting for pole position. However, the Mercedes driver is set to gain a position because of Max Verstappen’s penalty, promoting him to fourth on the starting grid.
Mexico GP qualifying Q1: Fernando Alonso causes red flag as Ferrari shows strong pace
The opening qualifying session began with home favourite Sergio Perez immediately heading onto the circuit in his Cadillac, receiving enthusiastic support from the Mexican crowd.
Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, suffered a particularly disappointing setback. After setting the fastest time in the early stages of Q1, the Aston Martin driver was forced to stop in the third sector, bringing out the red flags.
It was a frustrating conclusion for the Spaniard, who had shown encouraging competitiveness during practice. His disappointment was evident when he removed the steering wheel from his stationary car after the technical problem brought his qualifying session to an early end.
When the session resumed, Lewis Hamilton was leading the timesheets ahead of Oscar Piastri. However, Pierre Gasly soon displaced the Ferrari driver with a 1:18.194 before Charles Leclerc moved ahead with an impressive 1:17.532.
Lewis Hamilton responded almost immediately, reclaiming first place with a 1:17.341 as Ferrari continued to demonstrate strong qualifying pace.
Behind the two Ferrari drivers, McLaren moved into the leading positions, with Oscar Piastri ahead of Lando Norris. Andrea Kimi Antonelli was fifth, followed by Max Verstappen and George Russell.
Isack Hadjar also improved significantly towards the end of the session, climbing into second place behind Charles Leclerc.
Drivers eliminated in Q1: Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso, Ryo Hirakawa, Lance Stroll, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas.
Mexico GP qualifying Q2: Lewis Hamilton recovers from mistake as Oscar Piastri is eliminated
Ferrari began the second qualifying segment strongly, with Charles Leclerc immediately moving to the top of the timesheets. Lewis Hamilton, however, made a mistake in the third sector, forcing him to fit another fresh set of soft tyres for a further attempt.
Max Verstappen then improved on Charles Leclerc’s benchmark, setting a 1:16.876 to take the lead and demonstrate that Red Bull remained firmly in contention.
Lewis Hamilton recovered from his earlier mistake by moving into third place, pushing Lando Norris down to fourth ahead of an impressive Arvid Lindblad.
George Russell subsequently improved to fourth, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli struggled to match the leading pace. The Italian was only seventh at that stage, 0.257 seconds behind Max Verstappen.
The closing moments of Q2 brought another significant change as Lando Norris moved to the top of the classification. His McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, however, suffered a surprising elimination after finishing more than a second behind the British driver.
The Australian was unable to explain his lack of performance, admitting: “I don’t know what happened, I have no grip.”
It was a particularly disappointing result for McLaren, with Oscar Piastri unable to progress to the final qualifying segment while Lando Norris finished Q2 fastest.
Drivers eliminated in Q2: Nico Hülkenberg, Franco Colapinto, Oscar Piastri, Gabriel Bortoleto, Oliver Bearman and Carlos Sainz.
Mexico GP Q3: Lewis Hamilton delivers decisive Ferrari pole lap
Lewis Hamilton immediately headed onto the circuit with fresh tyres at the beginning of Q3, despite the additional tyre run that had already been necessary during qualifying.
However, it was Charles Leclerc who initially took control of the battle for pole position. The Ferrari driver produced an excellent first attempt, setting a 1:16.647 to establish the provisional benchmark.
Max Verstappen moved into second place, just 0.045 seconds behind the Monegasque after setting the fastest times in the first and third sectors. The Red Bull driver appeared capable of challenging for pole position, underlining how close the fight had become.
Lando Norris was third after the opening attempts, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Andrea Kimi Antonelli was further back in seventh, almost seven tenths of a second away from the fastest time.
With the decisive final attempts approaching, Lewis Hamilton made the decision to use another fresh set of soft tyres, sacrificing a new set that could otherwise have been available for the race.
The decision paid off spectacularly.
On his final flying lap, the seven-time world champion delivered an outstanding 1:16.514, moving ahead of Charles Leclerc and securing pole position for Ferrari.
Charles Leclerc was unable to respond after making a mistake on his final attempt, preventing him from improving on his earlier benchmark. Max Verstappen also failed to find additional time, with an error during his last run leaving him fourth.
George Russell, meanwhile, produced an excellent final lap to secure second place, splitting the two Ferrari drivers and denying the Scuderia a front-row lockout.
The result confirmed Lewis Hamilton’s first Grand Prix pole position for Ferrari, achieved after a weekend in which technical difficulties and qualifying mistakes had threatened to undermine his chances.
Ferrari secures pole as Charles Leclerc prepares to start behind George Russell
Ferrari will head into the Mexican Grand Prix with Lewis Hamilton at the front of the grid and Charles Leclerc in third position. Although the Monegasque missed the opportunity to secure a Ferrari front-row lockout, the Scuderia nevertheless demonstrated strong pace throughout qualifying.
The narrow margins between the leading drivers were particularly evident in Q3, where Charles Leclerc initially held provisional pole before Lewis Hamilton found the decisive improvement on his final run.
The differences between the Ferrari drivers and their rivals can be examined further through the F1 qualifying pace and sector comparison, which provides a breakdown of qualifying performance and sector times.
Behind the leading trio, Max Verstappen’s grid penalty is expected to promote Andrea Kimi Antonelli to fourth place, adding another complication to the starting order.
Ferrari now has an opportunity to convert its qualifying speed into a strong race result at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. The challenge for Lewis Hamilton will be to defend his advantage from pole position, while Charles Leclerc will aim to recover the ground lost to George Russell during the final moments of qualifying.
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