Hamilton Takes His First Ferrari Pole in Mexico City by 0.009s as Antonelli Starts Fourth for the Title
A 1:16.514 in the final seconds of Q3 gave the 41-year-old his 105th pole and his first since 2023, while penalties for Verstappen and Lawson reshuffled the rows behind him before Sunday's decider.
Sunday, November 1, 2026/2 min read
Lewis Hamilton has waited since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix for a pole position, and nearly two seasons in red for his first with Ferrari. On Saturday at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez he took it by nine thousandths of a second. His 1:16.514 on the last run of Q3 beat George Russell's provisional pole of 1:16.523, the FIA reported, with Charles Leclerc third, 0.119s back.
It is his 105th pole, extending a record nobody else is near, and Sky Sports noted that at 41 he is Formula 1's oldest pole-sitter in 44 years. "Thank you so much, it has been such a long time coming," he said over the radio.
What is the grid for the Mexico City Grand Prix?
The timesheet and the grid are not the same thing this weekend. Max Verstappen qualified fourth but carries a one-place penalty for a collision with Liam Lawson in Friday's second practice, so Kimi Antonelli, fifth on the timesheet, starts fourth with Verstappen fifth. Lando Norris lines up sixth and Isack Hadjar seventh.
Lawson, eighth on the timesheet, was then disqualified from qualifying for breaching the minimum MGU-K power requirement on his fastest Q2 lap and will start from the back. That lifts Arvid Lindblad to eighth, Pierre Gasly to ninth and Nico Hulkenberg's Audi into the top ten. Oscar Piastri, knocked out in Q2 complaining of a lack of rear grip, starts 13th. PlanetF1's results also list Valtteri Bottas starting from the back after an almost complete power unit change.
Q1 was interrupted by a red flag when Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin stopped on track with what the team called a suspected water-pressure issue linked to the energy recovery system. He will start 18th. Ryo Hirakawa, called up to replace Esteban Ocon at Haas, made his first F1 qualifying appearance and goes from 19th.
How does Antonelli win the championship on Sunday?
Easily, on paper. Antonelli, who is 20 and qualified fifth after a viral illness that he admitted left him tense in Q3, needs to finish ninth or higher to clinch the title if Hamilton or Russell wins the race. If neither of them wins, he is champion regardless of where he finishes. Our preview on Friday set out the maths before the weekend began.
The threat is not pace but the first corner. Starting fourth, behind a Ferrari front row split by his own team-mate, he has the long run to Turn 1 to survive and then 71 laps at altitude to manage. He won from pole in Austin last weekend; Sunday asks only that he keep the car in the top nine.
What should Ferrari expect from the race?
A fight with Mercedes, mostly. Hamilton and Leclerc have the front row and third, Russell is between them, and Verstappen, who abandoned his final run after locking up at Turn 13 and encountering Norris's McLaren, has shown he can win from anywhere this season. Red Bull-powered cars filled four of the ten Q3 places, which suggests the straight-line speed to make Ferrari's lead uncomfortable.
Lights out is at 20:00 UTC on Sunday. If the order holds to the flag, Hamilton will have his first Ferrari win and Antonelli the youngest championship in the sport's history, in the same afternoon.
Published in The Outspoken Digest
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