McLaren’s Lando Norris will start Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix from pole position after a commanding display in qualifying at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, edging out Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in a tense top-10 shootout.
For Kiwi driver Liam Lawson, progress through to Q2 offered early promise, but two aborted laps left the Racing Bulls driver 15th on the grid after a frustrating session hampered by balance issues and low grip.
Norris shines in final practice.
The signs of Norris’s pole-winning pace were already visible earlier in the day. The Briton topped Free Practice 3 with a time of 1 m 16.633 s, finishing three-tenths clear of Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari and Mercedes’ George Russell.
The session began quietly under clear skies as most teams waited for the dusty surface to rubber in.
Verstappen was the first to set a lap, but traffic and evolving track conditions meant few meaningful times appeared until halfway through the hour.
Ferrari’s pair of Hamilton and Leclerc took turns pushing the limits — Hamilton notably running wide at Turn 4 and kicking up dust through Turn 1 on separate laps, before Carlos Sainz briefly led on soft tyres.
Once the field turned its focus to qualifying simulations, the times tumbled rapidly.
Russell and Leclerc traded fastest laps before Hamilton became the first to dip under 1 m 17 s with a 1 m 16.978 s. Moments later, Norris hooked up an almost flawless lap to go quickest on a 1 m 16.633 s — a time no one could match.
Behind the top three of Norris, Hamilton, and Russell came Leclerc, Piastri, Verstappen, Antonelli, Hadjar, Tsunoda, and Bortoleto in the top 10.
Lawson continued his steady progression through the weekend, finishing 11th fastest with a personal-best 1m 17.522s, less than a tenth behind teammate Hadjar. The Kiwi added 20 laps to his tally and fine-tuned his setup after missing FP1 due to the team’s reserve driver obligations.
Q1 – Hadjar stars as Lawson advances
Qualifying began in front of packed grandstands and thin mountain air that made every engine note sound slightly strained at 2,200 metres altitude.
Haas rookie Ollie Bearman was among the early surprises, briefly going fastest on soft tyres before Norris restored order at the top with a 1m 17.147s. Track evolution proved significant — grip levels improved lap by lap, forcing even the top teams to run multiple times to stay safe.
Isack Hadjar stunned many by going quickest for Racing Bulls with a 1m 16.733s, while Lawson delivered a confident performance of his own. The Kiwi’s first flying lap of 1 m 17.458 s placed him 11th before a strong second run vaulted him up to sixth, securing safe passage into Q2.
Knocked out were Bortoleto, Albon, Gasly, Stroll, and Colapinto, while the top of the timesheets saw Hadjar lead from Hamilton and Norris.
Q2 – Norris dominates as Lawson falters
The second phase brought frustration for Lawson. Heading out early with teammate Hadjar, the Kiwi’s first flyer was compromised by a moment of oversteer at Turn 4 that forced him to abandon the lap and return to the pits.
Meanwhile, Norris was untouchable at the top, punching in a 1m 16.252s, over four-tenths quicker than Leclerc and half a second ahead of Verstappen. Hamilton and Russell soon improved to sit second and third as the battle tightened.
Lawson rejoined for a final push but again had to abort after running wide, ending Q2 without a representative time. He was classified 15th, the last of the runners, after what could have been a Q3-challenging pace earlier in the day.
Post-session, Lawson said the car “felt fast” but admitted they “chased the balance too far” during setup tweaks between sessions.
“Q1 was really strong, but we struggled to get the same feel in Q2. We decided to reset for another lap on used tyres, and it didn’t work out. The grip just wasn’t there,” he explained.
“It’ll be tough to overtake here, but I’ll give it everything.”
Eliminated along with Lawson were Tsunoda, Ocon, Hulkenberg, and Alonso.
Q3 – Norris delivers a statement lap.
In the decisive shootout, Verstappen was first across the line with a 1 m 16.455 s, but Norris immediately beat his time before Charles Leclerc surged to provisional pole on a 1m 15.991s.
As the final runs began, the tension mounted. Norris strung together an exceptional lap, every apex hit, every braking point perfect, to stop the clocks at 1 m 15.586 s, more than two-tenths faster than Leclerc’s best.
Hamilton completed Ferrari’s strong showing in third, Russell placed fourth for Mercedes, and Verstappen could only manage fifth after complaining of balance issues.
Behind them came Mercedes’ rising star Kimi Antonelli in sixth, Williams’ Carlos Sainz in seventh (though a five-place grid penalty from Austin drops him to 12th), McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in eighth, Hadjar ninth, and Bearman rounding out the top ten.
Norris’s pole marks his first since mid-season and sets up a fascinating title showdown with teammate Piastri, who starts behind both Ferraris and Verstappen.
Lawson’s uphill fight
For Liam Lawson, starting from P15 offers both a challenge and opportunity. The high-altitude layout of the Mexico City circuit makes overtaking difficult, but with unpredictable tyre wear and potential strategy variation, the Kiwi will aim to capitalise on any chaos ahead.
The race also carries extra weight in Lawson’s ongoing battle with Yuki Tsunoda for a 2026 Racing Bulls seat, a decision team adviser Helmut Marko has hinted will follow this weekend’s race.
Header Image: Mark Thompson/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool
