Lewis Hamilton will start the Mexico City Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli needing only ninth place to be crowned Formula 1's youngest world champion. Hamilton's final qualifying lap of 1 minute 16.514 seconds gave him the 105th pole of his career, his first with Ferrari, edging Mercedes driver George Russell by just 0.009 seconds. Charles Leclerc starts third, and Antonelli, fifth fastest, starts fourth because Max Verstappen, fourth fastest, carries a one-place grid penalty for a collision with Liam Lawson in Friday practice.

Antonelli does not need to win. A finish of ninth or better, worth two points, would settle the title regardless of other results,. Only Russell and Hamilton remain mathematically in contention.

Pole is no guarantee at Turn 1

Hamilton's pole is his first in a grand prix qualifying session since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, and he is the oldest pole-sitter since Mario Andretti in 1982. He had been outpaced by Leclerc for most of the weekend and lost Friday running to a power-unit fault, yet found the lap when it mattered. Sunday's first test is the long run to Turn 1, roughly 830 metres, so pole is an advantage rather than a guarantee, with Russell, Leclerc and Antonelli positioned to challenge.

Behind the front two rows, Lando Norris starts sixth, Oscar Piastri was eliminated in Q2 and qualified 13th, and Lawson was disqualified from qualifying to the back after his Racing Bulls car failed to comply with the technical regulations. Hamilton 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. Antonelli, meanwhile, needs only to bring the car home in the points, and in ninth or better, to make Sunday his coronation.