Lewis Hamilton has claimed his first pole position for Ferrari, edging Mercedes driver George Russell by just 0.009 seconds in qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix. Hamilton's fastest time of 1 minute 16.514 seconds beat Russell's 1:16.523, with Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc third at 1:16.633. It is Hamilton's first pole position since 2023 and his first since joining Ferrari, the oldest pole-sitter since Mario Andretti in 1982.

Hamilton had been outpaced by Leclerc, but the 41-year-old produced his best lap in Q3. Leclerc had led Max Verstappen after the first runs in Q3, but both made errors on their final efforts and had to settle for third and fourth fastest respectively. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fifth fastest in his Mercedes, but will start from fourth because Verstappen, fourth fastest, had already been handed a one-place grid penalty for a collision with Liam Lawson in practice on Friday.

Lawson disqualified, Piastri out in Q2

Lawson was disqualified from qualifying after his Racing Bulls car failed to comply with the technical regulations, demoting him from ninth to the back. The stewards found the car in breach of Articles C5.12.6 and C5.12.7. Oscar Piastri's qualifying ended early after the Australian failed to make it through to Q3, finishing 13th in Q2, after a tyre strategy from McLaren that sent him out on used soft tyres to start the session before switching to fresh ones.

Antonelli, who can seal the world title on Sunday, starts ahead of Verstappen and behind the two Ferraris and Russell's Mercedes on a grid shaped by penalties and a disqualification as much as by pace. Hamilton now has the run to Turn 1 he wanted; converting a landmark pole into a race win, on a circuit where overtaking is difficult, is the next test.