Hamilton ends three-year wait with first Ferrari pole

Lewis Hamilton beat George Russell by 0.009 seconds to take pole for the Mexican Grand Prix, his first pole for Ferrari and his first since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix. The 105th pole of his career extended his own Formula 1 record. Speaking to Jenson Button after qualifying, he said he was “lost for words”.

Hamilton described the weekend as challenging. He said Ferrari had an aero rake running in first practice and that an engine issue the previous day had left the team on the back foot; he had not managed a long run. He praised the team’s set-up work and said they had learned a lot from the previous race.

Hamilton said the field was closely matched. He had not got his lap in early in Q2 and thought the other drivers would have a new tyre for the race start.

At 41, Hamilton became the oldest driver to claim pole since Mario Andretti in 1982. Asked how he was still doing it at that age, he pointed to his mindset, sparring and other work to stay fit, and said his love for what he does remains.