Lewis Hamilton secured his first pole position for Ferrari and his first in over three years at the Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday. The seven-time world champion edged out Mercedes' George Russell by just 0.009 seconds to claim the 105th pole of his career, becoming the oldest driver to take pole since Mario Andretti for Ferrari at the 1982 Italian Grand Prix.
Hamilton's pole came after a challenging weekend that included an engine issue on Friday. "It's been a really challenging weekend... we've done a really good job on the setup and to have pole here, wow, it feels special," Hamilton said. "It's my first pole for Ferrari, and 105th, I like that number."
Russell, who could still prevent Kimi Antonelli from clinching the world title on Sunday, said he was happy to end a run of difficult form but could not explain his sudden improvement. Antonelli qualified fifth but will start fourth after Max Verstappen received a one-place grid penalty. Verstappen, who was on course for pole before locking up at the hairpin, will start fifth.
The title permutations remain: Antonelli can be denied the championship only if Russell wins and the Italian finishes lower than ninth, or if Hamilton wins and Antonelli scores no points.
Charles Leclerc qualified third for Ferrari, while Lando Norris took sixth for McLaren. Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, and Alpine's Pierre Gasly completed the top ten. Lawson was later disqualified for a technical infringement and will start from the back.
Fernando Alonso appeared set for a strong qualifying for Aston Martin before a water leak in the energy recovery system forced him to stop on track, leaving him to start from the rear of the grid.
