2026 Mexico City GP Qualifying: Hamilton snatches stunning first Ferrari pole

Lewis Hamilton ended his three-year Formula 1 pole position drought with a sensational qualifying performance in Mexico City, edging George Russell by just 0.009s as Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen joined the fight at the front.

Lewis Hamilton delivered a spectacular qualifying performance at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, claiming his first pole position as a Ferrari driver and ending a three-year wait to start a Formula 1 race from the front of the grid. He became the oldest pole sitter in 44 years, a number that is iconic with the seven-time champion. Mario Andretti was the last oldest in 1982.

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The seven-time world champion produced a remarkable final lap of 1m 16.514s at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, beating former Mercedes team-mate George Russell by just 0.009s in one of the closest qualifying battles of the season.

2026 Mexico City Grand Prix Qualifying Results

2026 Mexico City Grand Prix Qualifying, 31 October 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:17.341	1:16.953	1:16.514	20
2	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:17.659	1:17.027	1:16.523	22
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:17.506	1:16.944	1:16.633	24
4	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:17.942	1:16.876	1:16.692	14
5	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:17.918	1:17.133	1:16.707	24
6	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:17.733	1:16.728	1:16.824	21
7	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	1:17.385	1:17.047	1:16.900	20
8	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1:18.097	1:17.207	1:17.029	21
9	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	1:18.210	1:17.135	1:17.117	21
10	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:18.194	1:17.278	1:17.153	20
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	1:17.868	1:17.306		19
12	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:18.517	1:17.640		14
13	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:17.659	1:17.646		17
14	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:17.727	1:17.680		19
15	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	1:18.083	1:18.083		18
16	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:18.521	1:18.885		18
17	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	1:18.630			12
18	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:18.908			4
19	50	Ryo Hirakawa	Haas F1 Team	1:18.958			10
20	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:19.072			10
21	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	1:19.105			9
22	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	1:19.852			9

The result marked the 105th pole position of Hamilton’s illustrious F1 career, adding another milestone to his record-breaking tally and delivering a landmark moment in his Ferrari career.

Russell came agonisingly close to denying Hamilton, setting a 1m 16.523s to secure second place, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the top three with a 1m 16.633s.

Max Verstappen qualified fourth for Red Bull despite a costly lock-up on his final flying lap, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli fifth as the Italian continued his pursuit of the drivers’ title in the 2026 F1 World Championship.

Incredibly, just 0.193s separated the top five, highlighting the extraordinary margins between Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull heading into Sunday’s potentially championship-deciding race.

For Hamilton, the result represented a significant breakthrough after a difficult wait for his first pole in Ferrari colours. Having watched team-mate Leclerc dominate Friday practice, the Briton found his best form when it mattered most, delivering a decisive lap in the closing moments of Q3.

The session had promised a fiercely competitive fight for pole after three closely contested practice sessions, with Leclerc topping both Friday hours before reigning world champion Lando Norris edged Antonelli by just 0.001s in Saturday’s final practice.

However, McLaren were unable to translate that impressive FP3 pace into a front-row challenge.

Norris could manage only sixth place, finishing behind the Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull contenders after appearing among the favourites for pole earlier in the day.

His result was nevertheless considerably stronger than that of team-mate Oscar Piastri, who suffered a surprise elimination in Q2 despite McLaren’s encouraging pace throughout the weekend.

Isack Hadjar qualified seventh for Red Bull but was left frustrated after making a mistake on his opening Q3 attempt. The Frenchman struggled to recover the lost momentum, leaving him unable to challenge the leading group.

Liam Lawson secured eighth place for Racing Bulls, although the New Zealander faced a one-place grid penalty following his controversial collision with Verstappen during Friday’s second practice session.

Verstappen was also handed a one-place grid penalty for the same incident, which saw the pair make contact at Turn 12 and scatter debris across the circuit, bringing out a brief red flag.

Both drivers received a penalty point on their super licences following the stewards’ investigation, adding another complication to their preparations for Sunday’s race.

Lawson’s Racing Bulls team-mate Arvid Lindblad qualified ninth but was set to benefit from the penalty applied to his team-mate, moving ahead of him in the expected starting order.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly completed the top 10, securing a place in the final segment of qualifying after a competitive performance from the French squad.

While the battle for pole provided a thrilling conclusion to Q3, one of the biggest surprises came earlier in the session.

Piastri, who had finished fourth in FP3 and appeared capable of challenging near the front, failed to progress beyond Q2 after his final flying lap proved insufficient to secure a top-10 position.

The Australian was left 13th on the qualifying timesheets, behind Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg in 11th and Alpine driver Franco Colapinto in 12th.

It was a disappointing outcome for McLaren, particularly after the team’s strong showing in final practice had suggested both cars could feature prominently in the fight for the leading grid positions.

Gabriel Bortoleto claimed 14th in the second Audi, recovering from the power unit issue that had prevented him from recording a lap during FP3.

Haas driver Oliver Bearman qualified 15th, ahead of Carlos Sainz in 16th for Williams.

Sainz continued his impressive intra-team qualifying record, beating Alex Albon for the 14th time this season, although neither Williams driver managed to escape the opening segment of qualifying.

Albon finished 17th, narrowly ahead of Fernando Alonso, whose qualifying session was disrupted by a suspected technical issue.

Aston Martin instructed Alonso to abandon his running due to concerns over water pressure linked to the Energy Recovery System, leaving the two-time world champion 18th after his early exit from Q1.

Further down the order, Ryo Hirakawa completed his first Formula 1 qualifying appearance for Haas, taking 19th place after replacing Esteban Ocon for the remainder of the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend.

The Japanese driver, who had previously taken part in Friday’s opening practice session, continued his rapid adaptation to the VF-26 as he prepared for his maiden grand prix start.

Lance Stroll qualified 20th for Aston Martin, while home favourite Sergio Perez endured a difficult afternoon in front of his passionate Mexican supporters, finishing 21st for Cadillac.

The result was another disappointment for Perez after he missed the entirety of FP3 while Cadillac completed a precautionary power unit change on his car.

Valtteri Bottas rounded out the 22-driver classification in the second Cadillac, leaving the American team with both cars on the final row of the qualifying order.

At the front, however, Hamilton’s sensational performance changed the complexion of the weekend.

Leclerc had looked the strongest Ferrari driver throughout practice, but Hamilton produced the lap that mattered to deny Russell and secure a historic first pole position for the Scuderia.

Mercedes remained firmly in contention, with Russell on the front row and Antonelli fifth, although the championship leader faced a challenging race from behind several of his main rivals.

Verstappen’s qualifying performance also suggested Red Bull could feature in the fight for victory, even if his grid penalty added another obstacle to his hopes of securing a record-extending sixth win at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

With Hamilton chasing his first grand prix victory for Ferrari, Russell searching for a breakthrough at the front and Antonelli potentially just one race away from becoming Formula 1’s youngest world champion, Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix promised a fascinating battle.

And after qualifying was decided by only nine thousandths of a second, the fight for victory looked far from settled.