Hamilton on pole in Mexico City as Antonelli faces tense title weekend

Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position at the Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday, edging George Russell by 0.009 seconds, while 20-year-old Kimi Antonelli — on the verge of a maiden world title — will start from the second row.

Fourth place on the grid is described in the context of Antonelli's season as low-key, but it still puts the 20-year-old Italian in a strong position to seal the maiden title that will make him the youngest champion in history. That personal milestone was largely eclipsed on Saturday as Hamilton secured his first pole for Ferrari and his first since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, the 105th pole of his career.

Hamilton edged Russell by 0.009 seconds to take pole, and the only two drivers who, at least mathematically, can prevent Antonelli from sealing the title are together on the front row. The article notes Hamilton has taken pole with Ferrari for the first time and that those front-row positions put both potential title spoilers in direct contention.

Asked about the possibility of denying Antonelli the crown, Hamilton said: "That's not really something we're thinking of," and added: "We're thinking of just trying to score the best result for the team. Kimi, he's continued to drive really well and doing what he needs to do. All he has to do is just finish where he is, and he's kind of on his own journey. Our journey is to focus on performing the best we can this weekend and holding on to second in the Constructors' Championship."

Russell called Antonelli's championship "obviously inevitable", saying it would be "most likely this weekend" and adding: "So, for me personally, just going out there to try to have a good race. I want to try to finish this season strong. That's the biggest priority for me." He also said: "In my mind, he's kind of already won the championship. So that's something that I don't think I need to deal with."

Antonelli was 0.184secs off Russell in qualifying and was fifth fastest on the timesheets, but a one-place penalty for Red Bull's Max Verstappen puts Antonelli on the second row alongside Charles Leclerc. Antonelli admitted the stakes were affecting him: "I just feel like I didn't do a good enough job out there and didn't have the most confidence," he said. "It hasn't been easy this weekend, to be fair, and especially to keep my emotions flat. Definitely I have been a bit more tense than usual, also that played a big factor. But I try to enjoy the evening with family and friends and focus on tomorrow." The report adds that Kimi Antonelli missed Thursday's media day through illness.

Hamilton described the pole, achieved on his 43rd start for Ferrari, as "one of the greatest feelings" and recalled an earlier sprint pole: it was not his first time to be fastest for Ferrari, as he took sprint pole at the Chinese Grand Prix last year in only his second race for the team. The article records Hamilton's difficult debut season, noting he said at one low point in the summer of 2025 that he was "just useless" and suggested Ferrari should change drivers, but that his form has improved this year. On reaching 105 poles he said: "It's impossible to rank 105 pole positions. They have all been unique in their own way. It feels more special in this period where they're not every week and it's the first one with Ferrari in red. I've now had pole with three different teams, which is pretty phenomenal. And all the questions people had about whether a 40-year-old has still got it, there you go."

Hamilton missed a race-simulation run after a breakdown in second practice, which the report says leaves him with less information than some rivals; he warned: "It will will be a massive challenge to find the right balance but I am hopeful, it will be challenging and tough." The run to the first corner in Mexico is more than 800m and drivers on the second row have often used the slipstream into the lead, with Leclerc likely to attempt that and Antonelli potentially tempted to follow — although the piece cautions the last thing Antonelli needs is to be caught up in a first-corner incident.

Only a race victory for either Hamilton or Russell would prevent Antonelli from becoming champion at the end of the race on Sunday; the article states he needs only to finish ninth if Russell wins or 10th if Hamilton wins to be certain of the title, and Hamilton could stop Antonelli this weekend if he converts pole into a race victory.