Lando Norris claimed pole position of the F1 Mexican GP Qualifying after a stunning record lap. The McLaren driver beat Leclerc and Hamilton, Piastri came in 8th only.
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Q1 – Hadjar set the pace
The first qualifying segment began slowly and quietly, as only Aston Martin, Alpine, Haas, and Kick Sauber took to the track during the opening minutes. The top teams waited before joining the action.
McLaren was the first of them to go for a run, and Lando Norris set the benchmark with a 1:17.147 lap. His teammate, Oscar Piastri, followed just seven tenths behind. With eight minutes remaining, Oliver Bearman surprisingly jumped to the top with a 1:17.106, but Norris quickly responded, lowering the best time to 1:16.899. Piastri slotted into third, just 0.26 second behind.
Times continued to improve on the second attempts. Isack Hadjar impressed by setting a 1:16.733, while Liam Lawson also went below the 1:17 mark to take P3. By the end of Q1, Hadjar led the timesheets, followed by Hamilton and Russell.
Out: Bortoleto, Albon, Gasly, Stroll, Colapinto
Q2 – Norris dominated the second phase
Hadjar set the initial time for Q2 with a couple of mistakes made, slower time than in Q1. The front-runners quickly began to improve their times. Verstappen went fastest with a 1:16.824, before Leclerc responded with a 1:16.658. Moments later, Norris produced a stunning lap of 1:16.252 – over half a second quicker than anyone else. Piastri struggled on his first run and was more than a second behind. Sainz remained in P3, half a second off Norris’s pace.
Towards the end of the session, Verstappen briefly reclaimed P2 before Hamilton and Russell jumped ahead him. When time ran out, Norris led ahead of them, with the top ten covered by just over half a second.
Out: Tsunoda, Ocon, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Lawson
Q3 – Norris takes pole with a record lap
The final twelve minutes of qualifying began with Verstappen setting the early benchmark at 1:16.455, before Norris immediately raised the bar by going three tenths quicker. Piastri was just shy of Verstappen’s time, keeping McLaren in the mix for pole.
Hamilton soon slotted into second place, two-tenths behind Norris, but the order shifted again as Leclerc went under the 1:16 mark to take provisional pole with seven minutes remaining. Russell, meanwhile, struggled for traction and reported a lack of rear grip over the radio.
When the final set of flying laps began Piastri improved, but could not challenge the top spot, while Verstappen moved up to second. Then came a sensational lap from Norris — a 1:15.586 — setting a new track record. Hamilton briefly snatched P2 before Leclerc reclaimed the position moments later. Russell completed his run in fourth.
At the end of the qualifying session, the top six was: Norris, Leclerc, Hamilton, Russell, Verstappen, and Antonelli. Piastri was 8th, but he would gain one place due to Sainz’s 5-place grid penalty.
The full results of the qualifying according to FIA.com:
