Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix with a time 0.009 seconds faster than Mercedes teammate George Russell. This marks Hamilton's first Grand Prix pole since Budapest in 2023 and his debut pole with Ferrari.
Hamilton's 105th career pole came after he initially planned to sit out the final moments of Q3. He returned to the track with more than 10 minutes remaining in the session and jumped from fourth, where he was 0.422 seconds behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, to secure first place. Leclerc will start third.
"I'm lost for words," Hamilton said after qualifying. "It's been a really, really tough, challenging weekend." He referenced an engine issue from Saturday that put the team on the back foot. Ferrari used five sets of soft tires during qualifying to reach pole, a tire advantage that competitors will carry into Sunday's race.
This is Hamilton's second pole at Mexico City, his first coming in 2016. He has won poles for three teams: McLaren (26), Mercedes (78), and Ferrari (1).
Max Verstappen qualified fourth but will start fifth following a one-place grid penalty for an avoidable crash during Friday's practice session. Verstappen locked up in turn 13 on his final qualifying lap.
Kimi Antonelli, who qualified fifth, will start fourth. Lando Norris, the reigning world champion, will start sixth after bailing on his second Q3 lap.