The key facts
- Hamilton now holds 105 poles, the oldest since 1982
- Antonelli starts fifth and can seal the title on Sunday
- Russell and Hamilton are the only ones who can stop the Italian
A pole 1,197 days in the making
Lewis Hamilton won qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix, setting a best lap of 1 minute 16.514 seconds and beating Mercedes' George Russell by just nine thousandths of a second. Hamilton's Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc was third, with Max Verstappen fourth — he will receive a one-place grid penalty. This is reported by AFP (https://www.afp.com/en/hamilton-takes-record-105th-pole-and-first-ferrari-antonelli-lurks).
Historic numbers behind the result
For the seven-time world champion, this is his 105th career pole and his first since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix — according to Life.ru's calculations, 1,197 days and 77 races have passed since then. It is also Hamilton's first pole for Ferrari at a full championship round: after joining the Italian team, he had previously taken sprint poles twice. At 41, the Briton became the oldest pole-sitter since 1982 — the last driver older than him was Mario Andretti, who took pole at the Italian Grand Prix at 42, also for Ferrari.
What it means for the championship
Qualifying has a direct bearing on the title race. Kimi Antonelli (365 points) leads the drivers' standings, with Russell 123 points behind and Hamilton 124. As AFP notes, only these two can prevent the 20-year-old Italian from clinching the championship on Sunday: each of them needs to win and hope that Antonelli finishes worse than ninth. Antonelli himself, starting fifth, will become champion if he finishes in the top 9 or if neither Russell nor Hamilton wins; he would then become the youngest champion in history and the first Italian since Alberto Ascari (1953).
Context and how qualifying unfolded
According to Life.ru, Hamilton sits third in the standings on 241 points, with Verstappen (236) and Leclerc (233) also ahead of him. After the session, the driver said over team radio: 'Thank you so much, it's been a long time coming,' and later added that it had been a difficult weekend and that he likes the number 105. Qualifying was interrupted by red flags: Fernando Alonso stopped his car on track on Aston Martin's instructions, while Alex Albon, Ryo Hirakawa (substituting for Esteban Ocon at Haas), Lance Stroll and both Cadillacs were also eliminated from qualifying. Antonelli had already won the previous round in Austin, beating Leclerc and Verstappen, but did not clinch the title early on that occasion.
