Lewis Hamilton took pole for the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix with 1:16.514, beating George Russell by 0.009 seconds on October 31. Charles Leclerc was third. A later technical disqualification removed Liam Lawson from his original eighth place, so the initial session report no longer describes the complete qualifying classification.

At the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Hamilton’s final Q3 lap delivered his first pole for Ferrari and the 105th of his Formula 1 career, according to F1’s report. Russell briefly held the fastest time before Hamilton’s final improvement. The pole ended Hamilton’s wait since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Hamilton0milliseconds, Russell9, Leclerc119, Verstappen178andAntonelli193behind the pole lap
Top-five Q3 gaps from Hamilton’s1:16.514 pole lap, computed from amended F1 results. This is not a starting-grid chart.

The closest laps and the amended top 10

The leading laps show how little separated the contenders. Russell recorded 1:16.523, Leclerc 1:16.633, Max Verstappen 1:16.692 and Kimi Antonelli 1:16.707. Subtracting Hamilton’s time gives gaps of 9, 119, 178 and 193 milliseconds: all five were within two-tenths of a second. These are qualifying lap gaps, rather than distances or predicted race margins.

The amended official classification keeps Hamilton, Russell, Leclerc, Verstappen, Antonelli, Lando Norris and Isack Hadjar in the first seven places. Arvid Lindblad is eighth, Pierre Gasly ninth and Nico Hulkenberg tenth after Lawson’s removal. Hulkenberg’s appearance in the top 10 of that classification does not mean he took part in Q3; his listed last qualifying time comes from Q2.

Why the classification and grid differ

Lawson’s car breached the minimum MGU-K power requirement just after his fastest Q2 lap, F1’s subsequent report explains. Racing Bulls argued that the breach brought no performance advantage, but the stewards said technical compliance was required throughout the event and disqualified him. The later decision takes precedence over the original report that listed him eighth.

The starting order also has to account for penalties separately from qualifying classification. Verstappen qualified fourth but received a one-place grid penalty, with the FIA report placing him behind Antonelli for the race. Lawson had already received a one-place penalty for an FP2 incident, before the technical disqualification left him due to start at the back. His original P8, the amended DQ and the race grid describe different stages.

Sunday’s start in the UK and US

Sunday’s race is scheduled for 14:00 in Mexico City on November 1. That converts to 20:00 GMT in the UK, 15:00 EST on the US East Coast and 12:00 PST on the West Coast, with US standard time in effect that day. F1’s official broadcaster list identifies Sky Sports and Channel 4 for the UK and Republic of Ireland, and Apple TV for the USA; the linked list supplies their official routes, without implying that every listed outlet has identical live coverage.

The useful result to carry into the race is Hamilton’s pole and the revised classification, followed by the separate grid penalties. The lap-gap chart explains the close Saturday contest; it does not predict Sunday’s winner. For the next action, use the official race hub for the start and updates and the amended result page for the classification, rather than treating Lawson’s initial eighth place as still current.

Sources & context

Amended F1 classification and subsequent technical decision checked. Race times use November 1local offsets; broadcaster listing does not establish identical live coverage or a country-specific playback test.

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