• George Russell second on grid after qualifying

• Antonelli well placed as he nears title confirmation

Even as Formula One’s young gun Kimi Antonelli remains on course to claim his first world championship on Sunday it was the veteran, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton who gave a salutary reminder that there is very much fight left in the old dog yet as he claimed a spectacular pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Hamilton delivered a superb lap for Ferrari to secure his first pole for the team and just beat Mercedes’ George Russell into second. World champion in waiting Antonelli was in fourth place but remains in position to close out the title on Sunday, although Hamilton and Russell, who must win the race to have any hope of keeping the fight alive, have at least locked out the front row.

It was clearly a hugely emotional moment for Hamilton at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez to finally nail the top spot for Ferrari in his second season with the team, with the 41-year-old’s 105th pole also his first since 2023.

“Thank you so much, that’s been such a long time coming,” he said. “That feels good. I’m lost for words. My first pole with Ferrari. 105 poles, I like that number.

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way. It’s all in the mind. For sure, you might feel aches and pains, luckily I don’t, I do all those different things to keep myself young and fit. But I love what I do, and love is not gone.”

The title is all but in Antonelli’s hands but the day belonged assuredly to Hamilton who brought the crowd to their feet and earned a rapturous reception with an exemplary lap against very tough competition. His advantage over Russell was ultimately just nine-thousandths of a second.

It is an extraordinary feat for Hamilton, coming after his debut win for Ferrari in Barcelona and having endured a very difficult opening season with the team, showing that he has lost none of his edge when he has the right machinery beneath him.

His sheer joy in the moment was unsurprising given it had been such a long wait for the British driver. The pole is Hamilton’s first since the Hungarian GP in 2023 and Ferrari’s first since Budapest last year. It is only his second in Mexico, having last taken the top spot a decade ago in 2016.

He will of course be looking for the win but that alone would not be enough to deny Antonelli the crown.

He is 123 points ahead of Russell and 124 in front of Hamilton, if he is 100 ahead after the Mexican GP he will take the title. Russell or Hamilton have to win the race to stay in the fight but even should one of them do so, Antonelli will still be champion if he finishes in ninth place or higher.

Anything less than a win for Russell or Hamilton and Antonelli would still be champion even if he failed to finish. Having secured fourth place on the grid just staying out of trouble would surely be enough for the Italian. If he seals it on Sunday he will become F1’s youngest world champion at just 20 years old and the first Italian to claim the crown since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari and Max Verstappen in fourth on track but has a one-place grid penalty for a clash with Liam Lawson in practice on Friday. The New Zealander who finished in eighth also has a one-place penalty. Lando Norris was in sixth for McLaren.

For the opening runs in Q3 it was close at the front of the field with no driver holding a clear advantage. The Ferraris set the pace on the opening salvoes, with Leclerc setting a very strong time of 1min 16.647sec. The two Mercedes could not match him, with Antonelli having to really work the car and managing only seventh on his opening run but Norris came close, one-tenth back. Verstappen however was showing great pace and came within four-hundredths of a second of Leclerc.

For the final laps Russell found the best form of his weekend to take the top spot only for Hamilton to pip him. Leclerc could not better his teammate, while Antonelli followed them through he improved but could not match the leaders. Verstappen had a minor lockup in the final sector costing him his shot and with it the British driver had sealed the place.

Oscar Piastri was knocked out unusually early for McLaren, failing to make it out of Q2, he finished in 13th complaining of a lack of rear grip.

Before any running on Saturday had begun the Haas team made a shock decision to drop their driver Esteban Ocon from competing in the race weekend. The Frenchman was replaced in qualifying by reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa, who finished in 19th place. The 32-year-old Japanese driver, who has won two World Endurance Championships and the Le Mans 24 Hours, will make his F1 race debut on Sunday.

Ocon is set to be replaced next season by the Ferrari junior Rafael Câmara and his sudden removal from competition in Mexico suggests relations between him and the team have broken down. He had an angry exchange with his race engineer Laura Müller during FP2 on Friday, after which he returned to the Haas garage without removing his helmet.

The team issued a statement saying the switch had been made but would not elaborate on whether Ocon would return for the four remaining races, only adding that: “No comment beyond the statement other than to confirm it’s not due to illness”.

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