Hamilton Beats Russell to Take Pole Position in Mexico Grand Prix Qualifying
Lewis Hamilton took pole position for Ferrari in Formula 1 qualifying at the Mexican Grand Prix, his first in the team's colours. He finished 0.009 seconds ahead of George Russell.
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton was fastest in qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix, a round of the Formula 1 World Championship, and will start Sunday's race from pole position. The seven-time world champion secured the top grid slot, his first qualifying win since joining the Italian team.
At the end of the session, Mercedes driver George Russell had briefly moved to the top with a strong lap, ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Hamilton responded with a very quick opening sector and finished the lap 0.009 seconds faster. Leclerc took third, 0.119 seconds behind his teammate.
Title contention
Max Verstappen of Red Bull qualified fourth but will start fifth in the race, because he was given a one-place grid penalty the previous day for an incident with Liam Lawson in Friday practice. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) was fifth in qualifying but will line up fourth, and the source says he is close to clinching the F1 title.
Current world champion Lando Norris of McLaren finished sixth after a mistake on his first attempt and a decision to skip a second flying lap. Isack Hadjar was seventh. Lawson, driving for Racing Bulls, set the eighth-fastest time but was disqualified because his car's MGU-K system did not have the minimum energy level required by the rules after the second session.
Other developments
McLaren's Oscar Piastri lost nearly half a second through the Esses corner sequence in the second session because of a lack of grip and ended up 13th. The first session was halted by red flags when Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso stopped at the side of the track with Honda engine trouble, 11 minutes before the end.
Ryo Hirakawa, a 32-year-old World Endurance Championship (WEC) champion, made his first F1 qualifying appearance for Haas, replacing the suspended Esteban Ocon. He qualified 19th and will start 17th.
