Ferrari ends pole position drought thanks to Hamilton in Mexico

Lewis Hamilton has ended his long wait for pole position. The seven-time world champion set the fastest time in Mexico when it mattered most and will start from pole for the first time with Ferrari. It will be the 105th pole position of Lewis’s career and his first since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix. It is also Ferrari’s first pole position of the season.

Hamilton will, however, be at a slight disadvantage on Sunday. He has no fresh soft tyres left for the start. That could play into the hands of George Russell, who starts second, but particularly Charles Leclerc, who lines up third on the clean side of the grid with fresh softs.

Debutant Hirakawa bows out in Q1

The opening qualifying session in Mexico ended without any major surprises. That includes another breakdown for Fernando Alonso, who has been plagued by technical problems throughout his career, but in Mexico it is becoming a sad tradition. The team urged the Spanish veteran to pull over on track just a few metres from the pit lane. An angry “El Nano” struck the steering wheel in frustration and walked away.

Unsurprisingly, debutant Ryo Hirakawa also bowed out in Q1, finishing nineteenth, nine tenths behind team-mate Ollie Bearman. Alex Albon will start seventeenth, having fallen a tenth of a second short of Carlos Sainz, the last driver to progress. Alonso finished eighteenth, Stroll twentieth, and the Cadillac drivers occupy the back row as usual.

Piastri knocked out in Q2

The second part of qualifying did deliver a surprise, however – and a big one! Oscar Piastri’s struggles this season appear to be reaching their peak, with the Australian unable to put together a single competitive lap in Q2. While his team-mate progressed in first place, Oscar could manage only thirteenth!

“I don’t know what happened. I had no grip in the rear,” Piastri complained over the radio.

The other drivers eliminated were no surprise: Hülkenberg in eleventh, Colapinto twelfth, Bortoleto fourteenth, Bearman fifteenth and Sainz sixteenth. Of the midfield runners, Lindblad, Lawson and Gasly made it into the top ten.

Hamilton snatches pole position

Q3 came down to the finest of margins. After the first runs, Charles Leclerc held provisional pole, narrowly ahead of Max Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton’s lap went wrong as he made a mistake in the final sector. Isack Hadjar, meanwhile, ran deep into Turn 13.

The second runs, however, turned the order on its head. Once again, drivers made mistakes. Verstappen’s lap unravelled in the stadium section, where Lando Norris badly impeded him. Leclerc, meanwhile, failed to get the final sector right. By contrast, Lewis Hamilton put together a superb lap. Having been relatively quiet until then, he delivered the fastest lap when it mattered most to claim his first pole position with Ferrari.

George Russell will line up second on Sunday after improving his time significantly to finish just nine thousandths of a second off pole. Charles Leclerc will start third, only 119 thousandths of a second short of pole, but well aware that he could have found that time. Max Verstappen set the fourth-fastest time, but a penalty will drop him to fifth, promoting Kimi Antonelli ahead of him.

The rest of the top ten will be Norris in sixth, Hadjar seventh, Lawson eighth, Lindblad ninth and Gasly tenth.

Sunday’s race starts at 8pm GMT.