Lewis Hamilton takes his first pole for Ferrari at the Mexico City Grand Prix, beating George Russell by 0.009 seconds
Lewis Hamilton has taken pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix, Formula 1's official site confirmed on Saturday 31 October 2026 in its own qualifying report, read directly in this run — a final lap of 1 minute 16.514 seconds beat Mercedes' George Russell by just 0.009 seconds. It is Hamilton's first pole for Ferrari, Ferrari's first pole of the 2026 season and the 105th pole of his career. His team-mate Charles Leclerc qualified third, 0.119 seconds back. Max Verstappen was fourth fastest but carries a one-place grid penalty and starts fifth, so championship leader Kimi Antonelli — fifth fastest — starts fourth. BBC Sport notes Hamilton, 41, is the oldest pole-sitter since Mario Andretti in 1982, and that this is his first pole since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Key points
- Pole: Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), 1:16.514 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Saturday 31 October 2026 — from Formula 1's own qualifying report, read directly in this run.
- Margin: 0.009 seconds over George Russell (Mercedes); Charles Leclerc third, 0.119s back. It is Hamilton's first pole for Ferrari, Ferrari's first pole of 2026 and his 105th career pole.
- Grid: Verstappen was fourth fastest but starts fifth after a one-place penalty, so championship leader Antonelli starts fourth; Norris sixth, Hadjar seventh, Lindblad eighth, Lawson ninth after his own one-place penalty, Gasly tenth.
- BBC Sport: Hamilton, 41, is the oldest pole-sitter since Mario Andretti in 1982, and this ends a pole drought stretching back to the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix.
What happened
Hamilton's pole lands at the end of a difficult weekend for the seven-time champion: BBC Sport's report notes an engine issue on Friday left Ferrari on the back foot and Hamilton without a long run, and Formula 1 records that he had to recover in Q2 after bailing out of his first flying lap. Leclerc had set the early Q3 pace before Russell's final run took provisional pole — Hamilton's last lap beat it by nine thousandths of a second.
The result also shapes Sunday's title picture: Reuters reports Antonelli, who starts fourth, needs only a ninth-place finish in Sunday's 71-lap race to become Formula One's youngest champion at 20 and Italy's first champion since 1953 — that is Reuters' framing of the championship maths, carried as such.
Match facts — all verified
- ✓ VerifiedLewis Hamilton took pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix with a final qualifying lap of 1:16.514 — his first pole for Ferrari, Ferrari's first pole of the 2026 season and the 105th pole of his Formula 1 career — beating George Russell (Mercedes) by 0.009 seconds, with Charles Leclerc third for Ferrari, 0.119 seconds back.Formula 1 — Hamilton clinches first pole with Ferrari in Qualifying at the Mexico City Grand Prix (31 Oct 2026) · BBC Sport — Hamilton takes first pole for Ferrari at Mexico City Grand Prix (31 Oct 2026) · Autosport — F1 Mexico GP: Hamilton takes pole from Russell and Leclerc (31 Oct 2026)
- ✓ VerifiedBehind the top three, Max Verstappen was fourth fastest but will start fifth after a one-place grid penalty, so championship leader Kimi Antonelli — fifth fastest — starts fourth. Lando Norris starts sixth, ahead of Isack Hadjar; Liam Lawson qualified eighth but also carries a one-place grid penalty and starts ninth, with his team-mate Arvid Lindblad moving up to eighth; Pierre Gasly rounds out the top ten.Formula 1 — Hamilton clinches first pole with Ferrari in Qualifying at the Mexico City Grand Prix (31 Oct 2026) · BBC Sport — Hamilton takes first pole for Ferrari at Mexico City Grand Prix (31 Oct 2026) · Reuters — Hamilton ends pole drought at Mexico City GP (31 Oct 2026)
- ✓ VerifiedThe session's shocks came earlier: Oscar Piastri was eliminated in Q2 and qualified only 13th, Fernando Alonso was eliminated in Q1 after Aston Martin ordered him to abandon the session with a suspected water-pressure issue linked to the ERS system, and Haas's Ryo Hirakawa — standing in for Esteban Ocon this weekend — finished 19th in his first Formula 1 qualifying session.Formula 1 — Hamilton clinches first pole with Ferrari in Qualifying at the Mexico City Grand Prix (31 Oct 2026)
- ✓ VerifiedHamilton, 41, is the oldest driver to take a Formula 1 pole since Mario Andretti at the 1982 Italian Grand Prix, and this is his first pole since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix — a wait Reuters puts at 1,197 days.BBC Sport — Hamilton takes first pole for Ferrari at Mexico City Grand Prix (31 Oct 2026) · Reuters — Hamilton ends pole drought at Mexico City GP (31 Oct 2026)