In an exciting qualifying session for the Mexican GP, Lewis Hamilton has secured the pole, which represents the first for Ferrari this Formula 1 season. Hamilton surpassed George Russell in the final moments of qualifying, marking a time that allows him to start the race from the first position.
During the qualifying, Russell had secured the provisional pole with his last attempt before Hamilton, with a slightly faster first sector, took the lead by just 0.009 seconds. Charles Leclerc, Hamilton’s teammate, slightly improved his time in his last attempt but ended up 0.119 seconds behind the leader.
Max Verstappen had a solid performance, finishing fourth in qualifying, but with a penalty that will see him start fifth in the race. The Dutch driver had to serve a sanction for an incident during Friday’s practice with Liam Lawson.
In the context of qualifying, the battle for the top positions on the grid was intense. Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader, finished in fifth place, with the top five drivers separated by just two-tenths of a second. Lando Norris, the current world champion, looked like a potential contender for pole, but he couldn’t execute a perfect lap and had to retire.
The session was not without setbacks, as Q1 had to be briefly suspended due to the stoppage of Fernando Alonso, who suffered a failure with his vehicle. Alonso was one of the drivers who could not advance to the next round, getting eliminated with a performance that promised more on a circuit favorable to his team.
Hamilton, with the fastest time of 1:16.514, showcased his ability to lead, while several drivers had their attempts to access the top positions frustrated, such as Oscar Piastri, who fell out of Q3 with a disappointing performance in the second sector.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
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