2026 F1 Mexico City Grand Prix Qualifying: Hamilton ends pole drought

Lewis Hamilton captured his first pole position for Scuderia Ferrari —ending a 1,197-day pole drought stretching back to 2023 — with a brilliant 1:16.514 lap around the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Hamilton edged out Mercedes’ George Russell by just 0.009 seconds in a tightly contested Q3 session. Andrea Kimi Antonelli qualified 5th fastest on track in Q3 and admitted that the added tension of his pursuit of the World Championship title caused him to make errors.

Cadillac F1 Team Entry: Expanding the grid to 22 cars, Cadillac joined Formula 1 powered by Ferrari power units. Home favorite Sergio Pérez leads the charge alongside Valtteri Bottas. Lewis Hamilton partners Charles Leclerc at Ferrari. Mercedes fields George Russell alongside Italian prodigy Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who leads the Drivers' Championship heading into Mexico.

Following Sauber's full transition, Audi runs Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto. Haas replaced Esteban Ocon with reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa alongside Oliver Bearman. Franco Colapinto partners Pierre Gasly at Alpine. Q1 ended early for local hero Sergio Pérez, Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso, Ryo Hirakawa, Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri suffered a surprise Q2 elimination after failing to string together a clean final sector, ending up 13th. Lando Norris topped the segment with a 1:16.728. Max Verstappen briefly set the benchmark before Lewis Hamilton posted a 1:16.514. George Russell fell short by nine-thousandths, securing a front-row start for Mercedes. Charles Leclerc completed Q3 in 3rd, while title leader Kimi Antonelli placed 4th.

Max Verstappen received a 1-place penalty following a collision with Liam Lawson during Friday FP2, dropping his initial 4th-place qualifying effort to 5th on the grid. Qualifying 8th on track, Liam Lawson initially earned a 1-place penalty for the FP2 clash with Verstappen. However, stewards disqualified him from qualifying results due to a technical infringement post-session.

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