Hamilton snatches Ferrari's first 2026 pole in Mexico at 41 to end two-year drought

Lewis Hamilton seized pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Saturday, handing Ferrari its first pole of the 2026 season and ending his own two-year wait since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix. The 41-year-old beat Mercedes’ George Russell by a razor-thin 0.009 seconds to claim his 105th career pole.

Hamilton’s lap came at the decisive moment. Russell had temporarily displaced Charles Leclerc at the top of the timesheets with his final qualifying run, only for Hamilton to respond with a marginally faster first sector that proved just enough to deny his former team-mate.

The result made Hamilton F1’s fifth-oldest polesitter in the sport’s history, placing him between Mario Andretti and Nigel Mansell on the all-time list at 41 years and 297 days.

“Oh man, I’m lost for words,” Hamilton said after the session. “It feels special to be in Mexico and get my first pole with Ferrari, and number 105. I like that number.”

The achievement was all the more notable given the difficulties Hamilton faced earlier in the weekend. A power unit issue in Friday’s second practice session restricted him to just 13 laps, leaving him short of the track time he needed on the high-altitude, low-grip Mexico City surface.

“It’s been a really, really tough, challenging weekend,” he said. “We had the engine issue yesterday, which meant that we were just on the back foot. I didn’t get to do a long run, but we’ve done a really good job with the setup over the weekend.”

When reminded that he was the oldest polesitter since Andretti, Hamilton was characteristically direct about what keeps him competitive at an age when most drivers have long retired.

“When there’s a will, there’s a way. It’s all in the mind,” he said. “I love what I do, and that love is not gone. I wake up every day thinking about it. I dream about it. I’ve got this amazing support around the world that keeps me going, so I hope they’re happy with that today.”

Mexico City holds particular significance for Hamilton — he has celebrated two of his seven world championships at this venue — and Saturday’s result added another landmark moment to that personal history. Whether he can convert pole into victory on Sunday will determine just how much this chapter of his Ferrari story means.