Hamilton takes his first grand prix pole for Ferrari in Mexico

Lewis Hamilton claimed his first Ferrari pole for a Formula 1 grand prix and the team's first of the 2026 season in Mexico, beating George Russell by just 0.009 seconds in a tense qualifying session.

Hamilton had messed up his banker lap earlier in Q3, missing the apex at Turn 10, but made no mistake on his final attempt to displace Russell’s Mercedes at the top of the leaderboard.

Team-mate Charles Leclerc appeared to have the upper hand over Hamilton all weekend and even held the fastest time heading into the final Q3 runs, but couldn't improve significantly on his final flying lap and had to settle for third, 0.119s off Hamilton. It was a slide at Turn 10 that cost Leclerc, as it had Hamilton earlier.

Hamilton, 41, becomes the oldest driver to score a pole since then 42-year-old Mario Andretti in 1982, and extends his own F1 record to 105 poles.

The tense finale was mainly caused by Max Verstappen who sprang to life in Q2, but Red Bull's repeated brake issues at Turn 13 struck again. Verstappen set the fastest first sector and had a personal best in the middle sector before a huge, smoke-screen lock-up ruined the lap and he limped over the line to fourth. He has a one-place penalty for his Friday incident with Liam Lawson.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fifth and while he's likely to seal the title this weekend, he's looked second best to Russell in trying to coax the recalcitrant Mercedes into a window where the pace is extractable.

Lando Norris bailed out of his final lap and starts sixth, ahead of Isack Hadjar who also had issues at Turn 13 in his Red Bull, like Verstappen.

The Racing Bulls of Lawson and Arvid Lindblad (who will swap places when Lawson’s penalty is applied) led the midfield ahead of Pierre Gasly's Alpine.

Lindblad had set a time which was initially second fastest in Q2, a show-stopping time, but failed to carry that pace through to Q3.

Piastri Q2 shock

Oscar Piastri had looked competitive in Q1 but went out in Q2 in shock circumstances for the first time in two years, as his McLaren team-mate Norris went fastest in the session!

Piastri couldn't jump out of the drop zone on his final flying lap as he was over three tenths behind 10th placed Gasly in 13th. Just moments after that shock, Norris crossed the line with a pacesetting 1m16.728s to show what the McLaren package was capable of, at least in Q2.

No rear grip was Piastri's complaint, and he went out before Q3 for the first time since Mexico 2024.

Nico Hulkenberg's Audi was the first car out, just 0.028s off Gasly, ahead of the latter's Alpine team-mate Franco Colapinto and Piastri.

Gabriel Bortoleto took 14th, ahead of an apologetic Ollie Bearman who made a mistake in the last sector. Carlos Sainz's Williams was well out of the battle, 0.802s behind even Bearman.

Aston Martin's missed opportunity

Fernando Alonso was initially fastest in Q1 - admittedly before all of the top teams had set a time - when he pulled over in the stadium section with a suspected water pressure issue related to the ERS.

"We lost a big opportunity," he said after Q1, adding "frustration is beyond imagination."

Alonso had punched his steering wheel in fury and eventually dropped all the way to 18th - still ahead of Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll who couldn't maximise the Honda-powered package either, in 20th.

Alex Albon was the fastest Q1 casualty - 15-4 down on team-mate Carlos Sainz this year now for Williams.

Le Mans winner and World Endurance champion Ryo Hirakawa stepped in for the "not ill" Esteban Ocon as speculation intensifies as to why the Frenchman was dropped mid-weekend.

Hirakawa's time was unspectacular in 19th - between Alonso and Stroll - and a second off team-mate Bearman in the other Haas. But he was just over three tenths down on Bearman in the first two runs, encountering a Williams on his final flying lap which likely blunted his chances.

At his home grand prix, Sergio Perez won the admittedly not very tough Cadillac team-mate battle against Valtteri Bottas, over seven-tenths clear of Bottas.

Results

1 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 1m16.514s
2 George Russell (Mercedes) +0.009s
3 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.119s
4 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.178s
5 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.193s
6 Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.310s
7 Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +0.386s
8 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +0.515s
9 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +0.603s
10 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +0.639s

Q2

11 Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) 1m17.306s (0.036s gap to 10th)
12 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +0.334s
13 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.340s
14 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) +0.374s
15 Ollie Bearman (Haas) +0.777s
16 Carlos Sainz (Williams) +1.579s

Q1

17 Alex Albon (Williams) 1m18.630s (0.109s gap to 16th)
18 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +0.278s
19 Ryo Hirakawa (Haas) +0.328s
20 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +0.442s
21 Sergio Perez (Cadillac) +0.475s
22 Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) +1.222s