Qualifying Report - Lando Norris takes Mexico pole as rivals fade

Lance Norris
© McLaren

Lando Norris delivered a vital performance in the 2025 Formula 1 title battle by seizing pole position for the Mexico Grand Prix, outpacing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in a tense qualifying session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

The McLaren driver, who had been consistently quick through practice, produced a 1m15.586s lap in Q3 to secure his first pole since Spa, beating Leclerc by 0.262s and Hamilton by 0.352s. Mercedes’ George Russell took fourth with a 1m16.034s, narrowly ahead of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, which struggled for rear grip in the high-speed Esses.

Ferrari appeared Norris’s main threat through qualifying, as Leclerc initially topped the final shootout before Norris found more time on his second attempt. Hamilton also flirted with pole before locking up into Turn 12, settling for third. Behind them, Verstappen’s 1m16.070s left him fifth, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli was an encouraging sixth for Mercedes.

Carlos Sainz placed seventh for Williams with a 1m16.172s, though he faces a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. Championship leader Oscar Piastri continued to lack confidence in the McLaren’s rear-end stability and could only manage 1m16.174s for eighth, just two thousandths slower than Sainz. Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar impressed again with ninth in 1m16.252s, while Haas rookie Oliver Bearman completed the top 10 in 1m16.460s.

Q2 saw Norris lay down a 1m16.252s benchmark, two tenths clear of Hamilton, while Verstappen and Russell rounded out the top four. Piastri endured a nervy passage, scraping through to Q3 in seventh by just 0.079s over Yuki Tsunoda, who missed out in 11th. Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg followed, with Fernando Alonso 14th in the lead Aston Martin after a scrappy final run. Liam Lawson was 15th after a Turn 6 error cost him heavily.

The opening Q1 phase produced a mixed-up order as track grip improved rapidly. Rookie Hadjar led that session ahead of Hamilton, Russell and Norris, while Verstappen only managed ninth after early handling issues. Piastri’s 1m17.0s was enough to progress, but Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto (16th) and Williams’ Alex Albon (17th) again fell short of Q2. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto sandwiched Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll at the back.

Norris’s pole gives him a prime opportunity to close the points gap to team-mate Piastri in Sunday’s race, with Ferrari and Mercedes poised to mount a close challenge.