Lewis Hamilton secured his first pole position for Ferrari and his first in over three years at the Mexico City Grand Prix, edging out Mercedes' George Russell by just 0.009 seconds. The seven-time world champion's 105th career pole makes him the oldest driver to start from the front since Mario Andretti for Ferrari at the 1982 Italian Grand Prix.
Hamilton's pole came after a challenging weekend that included an engine issue on Friday. "It's been a really challenging weekend... we've done a really good job on the setup and to have pole here, wow, it feels special," Hamilton said. He trailed Charles Leclerc by over 0.4 seconds on the first runs in Q3 but delivered a flawless final lap to take the top spot.
The front-row lockout by Hamilton and Russell puts them as the only two drivers who can prevent Kimi Antonelli from clinching the world title on Sunday. Antonelli qualified fifth but will start fourth after Max Verstappen received a one-place grid penalty. Verstappen had been on course for pole before locking up at the stadium hairpin.
For Antonelli to be denied the championship, Russell must win with the Italian finishing ninth or lower, or Hamilton must win with Antonelli outside the points. Leclerc qualified third for Ferrari, while Lando Norris could only manage sixth for McLaren after failing to improve on his final run.
Further down the order, Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson was disqualified from qualifying for a technical infringement and will start from the back. Fernando Alonso's promising session ended early when a water leak in his Aston Martin's energy recovery system forced him to stop on track.
