LANDO NORRIS TAKES STUNNING POLE POSITION FOR THE MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX
Lando Norris took a brilliant pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix, beating the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. His McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri ended the session in eighth place.
After three practice sessions led by three different drivers, Leclerc, Verstappen, and Norris — the fight for pole began at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
In Q1, the Aston Martins of Stroll and Alonso were the first on track, using worn soft tyres. Alonso was back in action after a small issue in practice. Norris quickly set the pace with a 1:17.147, ahead of Piastri, who complained about a DRS problem. Russell, Leclerc, and Verstappen followed closely. At the back, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Colapinto, Gasly, and Bortoleto were at risk of being eliminated.
As the track got faster, times kept improving. Haas driver Oliver Bearman briefly went fastest before Norris and Leclerc retook the top spots. With the final laps coming in, Hadjar surprised everyone by going quickest with a 1:16.733, ahead of Norris. Gasly, Colapinto, Stroll, and Albon couldn’t improve and were knocked out, while Hamilton finished Q1 just 0.003s behind Hadjar.
Out in Q1: Bortoleto, Albon, Gasly, Stroll, Colapinto.
In Q2, Norris again led the way with a 1:16.252, four-tenths ahead of Leclerc. Hamilton and Russell also looked strong. Piastri struggled early, saying something felt wrong with his power unit, but he managed to recover to seventh. Both Haas cars made the top 10, but Tsunoda, Ocon, Hulkenberg, Alonso, and Lawson were eliminated, Lawson didn’t complete a proper lap.
Out in Q2: Tsunoda, Ocon, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Lawson.
In Q3, the final battle for pole began between McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Verstappen. Verstappen set the first time, but Norris and then Leclerc went faster. After the first runs, Leclerc led Norris and Hamilton, with Verstappen fourth and Piastri fifth.
On the final laps, Norris produced a stunning 1:15.586, four-tenths faster than Leclerc’s earlier time. Leclerc improved but stayed 0.262s behind, taking second. Hamilton finished third, Russell fourth, and Verstappen fifth. Antonelli was sixth, Sainz seventh, Piastri eighth, Hadjar ninth, and Bearman tenth. Antonelli, however, will start 12th due to a grid penalty.
The Mexico City Grand Prix will start at 2:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, with Norris leading the field from pole position.
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