MEXICO CITY - Lewis Hamilton edged George Russell on Oct 31 to take pole position for the Mexican Grand Prix.

As Hamilton grabbed his first pole position since 2023, his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc was third while championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who only needs to finish ninth on Nov 1 to ensure he clinches the world title, was fifth fastest in his Mercedes.

The Italian will start from fourth because Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who was fourth fastest, had already been handed a one-place grid penalty for a collision with Liam Lawson in practice on Oct 30.

Hamilton recorded a fastest time of 1 minute 16.514 seconds to edge Russell of Mercedes by 0.009sec with Leclerc at 0.119.

“Wow. That felt great. That feels good,” said Hamilton after becoming, at 41, the oldest man to grab a Grand Prix pole since Mario Andretti in 1982.

“I think this is my first pole with Ferrari, and 105, I like that number. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” AFP