Lewis Hamilton claimed a historic first Grand Prix pole position for Ferrari at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, beating George Russell by just nine thousandths of a second in one of the closest qualifying sessions of the season. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion secured the 105th pole position of his career with a lap of 1:16.514, ending a 1,197-day drought at the age of 41.
It was Lewis Hamilton’s second pole position in Mexico City, following his previous success in 2016. What makes this latest achievement particularly remarkable, however, is how Ferrari secured it. The British driver did not set the fastest time in any individual sector, the SF-26 was among the slowest cars in terms of straight-line speed, and his decisive Q3 lap came on his second attempt, an extraordinary 0.555 seconds faster than his first. The telemetry reveals where Ferrari found the time, why Charles Leclerc could potentially have gone even faster, and what these qualifying results mean for Sunday’s race.
Mexico GP qualifying: cooler track, thin air and two opportunities to deliver
The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a circuit where track conditions can change significantly during a session. Asphalt temperatures fell from 46°C in Q1 to 42°C in Q3, almost five degrees lower than during FP3. Meanwhile, air density is approximately 20% lower than at sea level, reducing aerodynamic downforce and making cooling more difficult.
Those conditions played an important role in qualifying. On average, lap times improved by 0.6 seconds between Q1 and Q2, followed by another 0.2 seconds between Q2 and Q3. Waiting for the track to improve therefore offered a considerable advantage whenever drivers could afford to do so.
Q3 effectively unfolded across two separate runs, and not everyone extracted the same benefit from the second opportunity. Max Verstappen and Lando Norris recorded their best laps on their opening attempts. Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli instead found their quickest times on the second runs, improving by 0.555, 0.615 and 0.632 seconds respectively.
Charles Leclerc, who had already taken provisional pole with a 1:16.647, managed to improve by just 0.014 seconds. The pattern also confirmed what had emerged during practice: Ferrari was particularly competitive through slower corners, while Red Bull held an advantage on the straights.
One interesting limitation affected the entire field. Along the main straight, every car reached approximately 349–351 km/h, with the differences emerging towards the end of the straight before braking. Ferrari was travelling at around 323 km/h before Turn 4, compared with approximately 336–338 km/h for Red Bull.
These figures exposed Ferrari’s limitations in terms of power-unit performance and power delivery, leaving its drivers needing to recover the lost time elsewhere around the circuit. The differences can also be explored through the F1 top-speed comparison data, although recorded speeds are also influenced by aerodynamic configuration and energy deployment.
Seven drivers separated by just 0.386 seconds
The qualifying classification behind Lewis Hamilton was extraordinarily close. George Russell finished just 0.009 seconds behind, followed by Charles Leclerc at 0.119 seconds, Max Verstappen at 0.178, Andrea Kimi Antonelli at 0.193, Lando Norris at 0.310 and Isack Hadjar at 0.386.
All seven drivers were therefore covered by less than four tenths of a second, delivering the fiercely contested Q3 session that had been anticipated throughout the weekend.
However, the final starting grid differs from the qualifying classification in two important respects. Max Verstappen drops to fifth following his collision with Liam Lawson in FP2, while championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli moves into fourth on the grid.
Liam Lawson, who was eighth on outright qualifying pace, was disqualified from the session following an MGU-K power issue immediately after crossing the finish line on his fastest Q2 lap. He will therefore start from the back, allowing Arvid Lindblad and Pierre Gasly to move up to eighth and ninth respectively.
Soft tyre allocation: the qualifying advantage that could prove costly on Sunday
Every driver used the C5 compound, the softest tyre in Pirelli’s range, throughout qualifying. Those who fitted a new set at precisely the right moment gained an advantage, but the drivers who used more fresh tyres now have fewer available for the Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Isack Hadjar each used five new sets across the three qualifying sessions. Charles Leclerc used four, while Oscar Piastri used only two.
How much difference did a fresh set make? Across ten comparisons in which the same driver completed a run on used tyres before switching to a new set during the same session, the median improvement was approximately half a second.
The more significant consequences will become apparent on Sunday. Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Isack Hadjar have no unused soft tyres remaining, whereas Oscar Piastri has three new sets and Fernando Alonso and Sergio Pérez have four each. Every driver still has one new medium set and one new hard set available.
The front row will therefore be unable to rely on fresh soft tyres for the start, potentially presenting an opportunity for drivers starting from the second and third rows. Tyre availability, rather than qualifying position alone, could become an important element of the race strategy.
Q1: a 0.109-second margin and a red flag
The opening qualifying session was decided by extremely small margins. Carlos Sainz progressed with the 16th-fastest time, a 1:18.521, while Alexander Albon was eliminated by 0.109 seconds. Franco Colapinto survived by just four thousandths.
Fernando Alonso stopped on the circuit with a suspected loss of ERS water pressure and did not return to the track after the red flag. Drivers who had already completed a representative lap subsequently found improvements of at least 0.55 seconds, while Max Verstappen and Lando Norris both advanced despite completing only one flying lap.
Q2: Oscar Piastri eliminated as Lando Norris leads McLaren
The margin at the elimination threshold in Q2 was just 0.028 seconds, leaving Nico Hülkenberg outside the top ten. The more significant story, however, concerned Oscar Piastri, who finished 13th in the session and was classified 12th overall.
Between Q1 and Q2, Oscar Piastri improved by only 0.013 seconds at a time when the circuit was offering approximately six tenths of additional performance. He ultimately finished 0.918 seconds behind McLaren teammate Lando Norris, whose 1:16.728 was the fastest lap of Q2.
Lewis Hamilton also encountered difficulty during the session. A lock-up at Turn 13 invalidated one of his laps, but the Ferrari driver recovered by fitting a fresh set of tyres and recording a 1:16.953 to secure his place in Q3.
How Lewis Hamilton secured Ferrari’s Mexico GP pole on his second Q3 attempt
Three drivers were central to the final qualifying battle. On the opening run, Lewis Hamilton recorded a 1:17.069, while Charles Leclerc claimed provisional pole with a 1:16.647, more than four tenths faster than his teammate.
George Russell then moved into first place at 16:06:53 with a 1:16.523. Just 19 seconds later, Lewis Hamilton crossed the line in 1:16.514, beating the Mercedes driver by the smallest of margins: 0.009 seconds.
The improvement over Hamilton’s first attempt was 0.555 seconds, with the second sector accounting for 0.296 seconds of that gain. It was the crucial transformation that turned a relatively modest opening effort into his first Grand Prix pole for Ferrari.
Not everyone managed to exploit the second run as effectively. George Russell improved by 0.615 seconds and Andrea Kimi Antonelli by 0.632, whereas Charles Leclerc found only 0.014 seconds.
Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Isack Hadjar recorded their best times on their first attempts or their only valid runs. Max Verstappen compromised his second lap with a lock-up at Turn 13, recording a third sector of 21.979 seconds compared with 19.607 on his opening lap. Lando Norris abandoned his second attempt during sector two.
The unusual sector data behind Lewis Hamilton’s pole position
Lewis Hamilton’s pole lap was remarkable because he did not record the fastest time in any of the three sectors. He was 0.067 seconds slower than Max Verstappen in sector one, 0.022 behind George Russell in sector two and 0.108 behind Charles Leclerc in sector three.
Against George Russell, however, the Ferrari driver gained time in the first and third sectors, losing ground only in the second. Those combined gains were sufficient to produce the nine-thousandth advantage that ultimately decided pole position.
It was a perfectly executed lap rather than a dominant performance in any individual part of the circuit. Both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell matched their respective theoretical ideal lap times, leaving no measurable time available from combining their best sectors.
The same was not true for their rivals. Charles Leclerc’s ideal lap, calculated by combining his fastest individual sectors, was 1:16.443, which would have been 0.071 seconds quicker than pole. Max Verstappen’s theoretical best was even faster at 1:16.424, potentially 0.090 seconds below Hamilton’s winning time.
The front row could therefore have looked very different had every driver managed to combine their strongest sectors into a single lap. These differences can be examined in greater detail through the qualifying telemetry and corner-by-corner comparison.
Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren: four different approaches to the same lap
To identify where each team was strongest, the lap was divided into nine separate zones. The time lost by each team was then measured against the quickest performance recorded in that zone by the seven drivers representing the four leading teams.
The resulting picture was clear: Mexico City rewards several different approaches to lap-time performance, and each team had arrived with its own competitive characteristics.
Ferrari: strongest through slower and medium-speed corners
Ferrari was fastest in four of the nine zones: Turns 1–3, Turns 4–6, Turn 12 and the Foro Sol section, with Charles Leclerc setting the benchmark in all four.
That gave the Italian team an advantage in slow- and medium-speed corners, although it lost time elsewhere. Ferrari conceded approximately 0.08 seconds on the straight, 0.09 seconds between Turns 3 and 4 and through Turns 7–11, and 0.12 seconds between Turns 11 and 12.
The pattern was consistent with Ferrari’s lower recorded top speeds and its performance on the exit of Turn 12. In that zone, Lewis Hamilton remained at full throttle for 18% of the section and Charles Leclerc for 22%, compared with 0% for George Russell.
It also highlighted the different challenges facing Ferrari’s SF-26 at the Mexico GP, where its cornering strengths had to compensate for limitations elsewhere around the lap.
Mercedes: balanced through the middle of the lap
Mercedes showed the most balanced performance in the middle part of the circuit. Andrea Kimi Antonelli set the benchmark between Turns 3 and 4, while George Russell was fastest through Turns 7–11 and Turns 11–12.
The losses elsewhere were substantial, however. Mercedes conceded 0.25 seconds at Turn 12, 0.15 through Turns 1–3 and approximately 0.11 seconds through Turns 4–6 and the Foro Sol section.
It was a very different performance profile from Ferrari’s, yet the two teams were separated by only nine thousandths over a complete lap. George Russell’s second-sector time of 30.008 seconds remained the fastest recorded during Q3.
Red Bull: fastest on the main straight but losing time in the corners
Red Bull topped just one of the nine measured zones: the main straight, courtesy of Max Verstappen. Its advantage there was not enough to compensate for the time lost through the corners.
The team conceded approximately 0.20 seconds through Turns 7–11, 0.18 through Turns 1–3 and 0.13 at Turn 12.
Max Verstappen’s third-sector time of 19.607 seconds was better than Lewis Hamilton’s, but his overall lap could not match the combined performance of the drivers who were particularly competitive through the slower sections.
McLaren: strong on the straights but struggling through the corners
McLaren set the best time in only one zone, the exit of Turn 17, with Lando Norris. The losses elsewhere accumulated quickly: 0.30 seconds at Turn 12, 0.22 through Turns 7–11, 0.19 in the Foro Sol and 0.15 through both Turns 1–3 and Turns 4–6.
The team was much more competitive on the straights, losing only 0.01 and 0.02 seconds in the relevant zones. Its main problem was therefore concentrated in the corners.
After a weekend that had suggested McLaren might once again challenge at the front, sixth place for Lando Norris in Q3 brought those hopes to an abrupt end.
The two Ferrari battles that decided the pole position
Lewis Hamilton versus George Russell: nine thousandths decided by corner performance
Against George Russell, Lewis Hamilton lost time through the faster sections but recovered it in two important slower corners. Mercedes was quicker along the main straight and between Turns 7 and 11, accumulating an advantage of approximately 0.25 seconds by Turn 12.
Hamilton recovered around 0.17 seconds through Turns 1–3 and, crucially, another 0.24 seconds at Turn 12. The resulting difference over the complete lap was just nine thousandths, with the telemetry showing precisely how those tiny gains and losses accumulated.
Lewis Hamilton versus Charles Leclerc: Ferrari’s missed opportunity
Comparing the fastest laps of the two Ferrari drivers reveals an equally interesting picture. Lewis Hamilton gained 0.049 seconds on Charles Leclerc in sector one and 0.178 in sector two, particularly between Turns 11 and 12. He then lost 0.108 seconds in the final sector.
Charles Leclerc was faster exiting Turn 4 and through the Foro Sol section, where he produced the fastest third sector of the entire session, a 19.524.
Ultimately, Lewis Hamilton won the intra-team contest because Charles Leclerc was unable to combine his strongest sectors into one complete lap. The Monegasque driver’s theoretical best was 1:16.443, compared with his actual fastest lap of 1:16.633.
It was therefore an extremely close contest in terms of available performance, even if the final classification showed a margin of 0.119 seconds between the Ferrari teammates.
Elsewhere, George Russell defeated Andrea Kimi Antonelli in all three qualifying sessions, despite the championship leader finding 0.632 seconds on his second Q3 lap. Max Verstappen finished 0.208 seconds ahead of Isack Hadjar and, on theoretical ideal lap times, could have beaten pole by 0.090 seconds.
Lando Norris secured sixth position despite completing only one valid lap in Q3, while Oscar Piastri’s 0.918-second deficit to his teammate in Q2 represented the most significant disappointment for McLaren.
From FP3 expectations to Turn 13 lock-ups
The final practice session had pointed towards a very different qualifying order. Lando Norris had topped FP3, Oscar Piastri was fourth, Lewis Hamilton sixth and George Russell seventh.
With the track 4.8°C cooler, the qualifying runs completely reshuffled the competitive picture. Ferrari and Mercedes finished first and second, while McLaren went from leading the field to fourth among the main contenders.
Individual incidents had less influence than might initially have been expected. Lewis Hamilton locked up at Turn 13 during Q2, Isack Hadjar experienced several lock-ups, and Max Verstappen made the same mistake during his second Q3 attempt.
Several laps were also deleted for track limits infringements, although Oliver Bearman’s deleted lap at Turn 12 would still have left him 14th. Liam Lawson’s disqualification had a greater effect on the final classification.
Grid penalties also played a part, with Max Verstappen receiving a one-place penalty for his FP2 incident and Valtteri Bottas carrying a 50-place grid penalty.
Why Lewis Hamilton’s historic Ferrari pole does not guarantee a Mexico GP victory
Lewis Hamilton’s pole position demonstrates exactly where Ferrari was competitive over a single lap: through slower corners, on corner exits and during a perfectly executed second qualifying attempt. What it does not establish is whether the SF-26 will retain those advantages over the full 71-lap race distance.
The leading cars have used considerable tyre resources to secure their starting positions, with Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Isack Hadjar all having no new soft tyres remaining. Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli starts fourth, ready to challenge the front row.
Historically, pole position has offered a relatively limited advantage at this circuit, but overtaking is expected to be more complicated this year. Different energy-management requirements, reduced aerodynamic downforce and the need to control brake temperatures while protecting the power unit all introduce additional considerations.
Those concerns reflect the cooling and grip challenges previously highlighted by Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur ahead of the Mexican weekend.
For Lewis Hamilton, the achievement remains historic: a first Grand Prix pole for Ferrari, his 105th in Formula 1 and an end to a drought lasting more than three years. But with such narrow performance margins, tyre availability and race-management demands, the outcome of Sunday’s Grand Prix remains completely open. The drivers starting from the second and third rows are unlikely to surrender the fight without a challenge.
Leave a Reply