Lewis Hamilton marked a significant career milestone at the Mexico City Grand Prix by securing his first pole position as a Ferrari driver. This achievement, the 105th of his career, ends a drought lasting more than three years; his previous pole came at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix. At 41 years old, Hamilton becomes the oldest driver to secure a pole position since Mario Andretti achieved the feat for Ferrari at the 1982 Italian Grand Prix. Wow, it feels special, we’ve done a really good job on the setup and to have pole here.
Hamilton managed to edge out Mercedes driver George Russell by a narrow margin of 0.009 seconds. Both drivers remain the only competitors capable of preventing Kimi Antonelli from clinching the world championship title this weekend. The mathematical scenario for the title race dictates that Antonelli only loses the championship if Russell takes the win while Antonelli finishes outside the top nine, or if Hamilton secures victory while Antonelli fails to score any points.
Antonelli is set to start Sunday’s race from fourth position. Although he originally qualified fifth behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, a one-place penalty issued to Verstappen promoted the championship leader. During qualifying, Leclerc briefly threatened the top spot but ultimately finished 0.119 seconds behind Hamilton’s benchmark time. Falling short of Hamilton by 0.119secs, leclerc went first.
Reflecting on his performance, an emotional Hamilton admitted he was lost for words.
The seven-time champion noted that his weekend began on a difficult note due to an engine issue on Friday, which forced the team to skip crucial long-run simulations. He credited the team for an excellent setup that allowed him to deliver a final, flawless lap. Hamilton added that reaching this milestone with Ferrari carries a personal weight, as it reminded him of watching Michael Schumacher secure numerous victories and poles for the same team.
The qualifying session saw drama for other frontrunners as well. While Verstappen appeared to be on a pole-contending lap, leading after two sectors, a lock-up into the stadium section’s hairpin ruined his final attempt. Meanwhile, Hamilton and Russell had both secured their times early, leaving them to watch from the sidelines as their rivals struggled to overcome the narrow gap they had established.
