Lando Norris dominated the battle for pole position at the Mexico City Grand Prix on another difficult day for championship leader Oscar Piastri, who will start seventh.
Norris made himself the man to beat with the fastest time in FP3, and despite predictions of a super-close top-10 shootout, the Brit was unmatched at the core. Charles Leclerc was the only driver who could put real pressure on Norris and topped the timesheets after the first runs, but a thrilling final lap with three purple sectors blew the Ferrari out of the water.
Norris’s fastest time was 1’15.586s, putting him 0.262s clear at the head of the field to claim his first pole position since July’s Belgian Grand Prix.
“I’m happy to be on pole again – it’s actually been quite a long time, so a good feeling,” he said. “It was one of those laps where you don’t really know what happened.
“I felt OK, but when I crossed the line and saw a time of 15.5 seconds I was very pleasantly surprised.
“I’ve been feeling good all weekend, especially today. I was a bit nervous at the end with the Ferrari in Q3, but I pulled it back when it mattered, and that’s why I’m happy.”
Leclerc noted a small improvement on his final flying lap and managed to hold on to second place. Although he didn’t think he was actually in contention for pole position, he said victory was his goal from the front row of the grid.
“I’m pretty pleased with the work we’ve done,” he said. “I don’t think there was much more to the car – there’s a bit here and there, as always in qualifying, but I’m very happy with today’s performance.
“We will do everything we can to take first place in the first corner and then see what is possible.”
Lewis Hamilton completed a strong day for Ferrari, qualifying 0.09 seconds behind Leclerc in the first double top-three qualifying result of the season, and was optimistic that a double slipstream to the first corner could work in his favor in the long run.
“I’m really happy,” he said. “I’m honored to be here with Charles and with Lando; these guys have been so fast all year.
“P3 is actually the perfect place on this circuit, so I hope I can make the most of it at the start. I think our race pace is not that bad.”
George Russell qualified a further 0.096 seconds back in fourth place, which was enough to push title contender Max Verstappen back to fifth, the Dutchman a further 0.036 seconds back. Verstappen never looked as comfortable on Saturday as he did on Friday when he drove the second free practice, despite reversing some of the overnight changes to the car after a non-competitive free practice.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli was sixth, ahead of Carlos Sainz, although the Spaniard will start 12th after serving a five-place penalty for hitting Antonelli at the United States Grand Prix last weekend.
Sainz’s penalty is the smallest consolation for title leader Piastri, who will inherit the place after qualifying eighth and a whopping 0.588 seconds slower than his teammate, the biggest gap between the McLaren drivers of the season. The Australian never looked connected at the Mexico City circuit, and although he came within 0.3 seconds of Norris after the opening runs of Q3, he failed to kick further from there, leaving him in the lower reaches of the top 10. If he and Norris finish where they should start, Piastri will lose the championship lead after 15 laps at the top of the title table.
Isack Hadjar finished ninth ahead of Oliver Bearman to complete the top 10.
Yuki Tsunoda was eliminated in 11th, although the Japanese driver was a defensible 0.2 seconds slower than teammate Verstappen in Q3 and was just 0.012 seconds away from a place in Q3. Esteban Ocon was eliminated in 12th, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso, while Liam Lawson will start 15th after failing to set a representative lap.
Gabriel Bortoleto was the first driver eliminated in a nail-biting Q1 session that saw the entire field disperse in less than 1 second, although the gap between the Brazilian Sauber driver and safety was 0.121 seconds. Alex Albon was unable to complete a clear final lap for Williams due to braking problems, leaving him stranded in 17th place, ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. Lance Stroll exited his scrappy final lap of the fast-moving circuit to finish 19th, ahead of Franco Colapinto, whose final attempt at progression ended off the track after bouncing off the curb at Turn 3.
RESULTS
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