Having been in control throughout qualifying, Lando Norris put together a stunning final lap to take pole position by over two tenths of a second. Norris himself seemed unable to explain where that pace came from, later saying, “even I don’t know how I did that!”. This marks Norris’ first pole since the Belgian Grand Prix in July and is a welcome return to form for the man who currently lies 14 points adrift of the championship lead.
Having played second fiddle to his teammate last time out in Austin, Oscar Piastri was once again unable to contend with Norris’ searing pace. The championship leader narrowly avoided a disastrous Q2 exit (scraping through by just 0.079s) and suffered what he described as a power unit issue on his first run in Q3. In the end, Piastri could only manage eighth fastest, but will start the race seventh due to a grid penalty for Carlos Sainz. With both his championship rivals ahead of him, it's safe to say Piastri has his work cut out.
After crossing swords with McLaren and Red Bull in free practice, Ferrari made good on their initial pace in qualifying. Charles Leclerc was the first driver to break the 1m 16s barrier in Q3 and briefly grabbed provisional pole, only losing out to Norris’ imperious final run. On the other side of the garage, Lewis Hamilton had his best qualifying performance in recent memory. The seven-time world champion will start third, his highest starting position since sprint qualifying in Miami. He may have taken the unwanted record of most Ferrari starts before a first podium last time out in Austin, but Hamilton has an opportunity to end that drought in Mexico.
Having looked strong in free practice, Mercedes couldn’t match the likes of McLaren and Ferrari. Even so, George Russell went quietly about his business and secured P4, one place ahead of Max Verstappen. Having failed to match Norris in practice, Verstappen never looked to be in the fight for pole. The reigning world champion admitted to not knowing the reason behind the dip in pace, stating that “everything we tried didn’t really work”. When asked about his expectations for the race, Verstappen admitted that DNFs for those ahead will be necessary if he’s to make any meaningful progress. Having looked like the inform driver since the summer break, Verstappen’s momentum looks to have taken a knock in Mexico.
Behind him, Kimi Antonelli narrowly avoided a Q1 exit and recovered to a creditable sixth, ahead of Isack Hadjar. The Frenchman showed solid pace throughout qualifying, going so far as to top the timesheets in Q1 and will start the race seventh, one place ahead of another eye-catching midfield runner: Ollie Bearman. Yuki Tsunoda ran a different rear wing to his teammate and missed out on Q3 but will start 10th due to Sainz’s demotion. Esteban Ocon will line up 11th, while Sainz, having gone seventh fastest in Q3, will serve a five-place grid penalty for a collision with Antonelli in Austin.
Sauber’s solid pace in free practice did not carry over into qualifying as Nico Hulkenberg could only manage 13th, ahead of Fernando Alonso and Liam Lawson. Unable to match his teammate, both Lawson’s Q2 runs fell victim to mistakes. He could only manage 15th and cited a lack of grip as the main concern.
Gabriel Bortoleto will start 16th ahead of Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll, and Franco Colapinto. Any hopes the Argentinian had of escaping Q1 were dashed by a wayward moment at turn three, much to Flavio Briatore’s disappointment.
With all the recent speculation having revolved around Max Verstappen, an emphatic pole was just the result Norris needed. He’s got the best seat in the house for the race, but given the 890-meter dash down to turn one as well as the tight right-hander at the end of it. It's still anyone’s guess as to who will take the spoils in Mexico.
