Lando Norris edged out Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to secure pole position.
McLaren’s Lando Norris has significantly bolstered his championship aspirations by clinching pole position at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Championship rivals Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri are set to start the race from fifth and seventh, respectively, as both Ferrari drivers and Mercedes’ George Russell inserted themselves into the title battle.
Norris outpaced Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by a mere 0.262 seconds, while Lewis Hamilton achieved his best qualifying result of the season, securing third place.
Verstappen, grappling with his Red Bull through the Esses, found himself 0.484 seconds off the pace in fifth, narrowly beaten by Russell by just 0.036 seconds.
Piastri, who appeared to struggle throughout the weekend, briefly surged to third with his final lap, only to be overtaken by a succession of drivers.
He initially qualified eighth, behind Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and Williams driver Carlos Sainz, but will gain a position on the grid due to Sainz’s five-place grid penalty for causing a collision in Austin last weekend.
Norris emerged as the frontrunner for pole position heading into the final qualifying shootout, building on a strong showing throughout the weekend. However, Leclerc delivered an impressive lap on his first run, momentarily seizing provisional pole.
Despite Leclerc improving on his subsequent run, the British driver surpassed the Ferrari driver with a scintillating lap, claiming his first pole position since the Belgian Grand Prix in July.
Speaking to his team via radio after the session, Norris exclaimed: “What a lap. What a lap. Even I don’t know how I did that.”
Upon exiting his car, Norris added: “I’m happy to be back on pole. It has been quite a long time. The lap, it was one of those laps when you don’t really know what happened. It felt decent, but when I crossed the line and saw a [one minute] 15.5, I was very pleasantly surprised.
“I have been feeling good all weekend. I got a little bit nervous of the Ferrari in Q3, but I pulled it out in the end.”
Leclerc, who had been almost 0.2 seconds faster than Norris on his first run, felt that there was little more performance to extract from the Ferrari.
“This qualifying is very difficult because there is very little grip, so the car is sliding a lot, and to put everything together is very tricky,” he stated.
“I am pretty happy with the job we have done. I don’t think there is much more in the car. We will do everything to get the first place into the first corner and see what’s possible.”
Hamilton, whose previous best qualifying result this season was fourth in Monaco, finished just 0.09 seconds behind his teammate’s pace.
The seven-time champion remarked: “I’m really happy. I am honored to be up here with Charles and Lando. These guys have been so quick all year, and it’s an amazing feeling.
“It’s the first time we’ve both been up here all year, and the team really deserve it. We have been working so hard.”
Who will take pole at Mexico City Grand Prix? Follow build-up to qualifying
How to follow Mexico City Grand Prix on the BBC
Andrew Benson Q&A: Send us your questions
Norris trails Piastri by 14 points in the standings and will regain the championship lead for the first time since April if he wins the race and Piastri fails to score significant points.
Piastri struggled throughout the weekend, and despite an apparent improvement on his final lap that briefly propelled him to third, other drivers eclipsed his time as track conditions improved.
The Australian ultimately finished 0.588 seconds behind Norris, continuing a recent trend of difficult races.
Piastri commented: “It all feels OK, just no pace. It is a bit of a mystery. It has been more or less the same gap all weekend. We will have to look at where it was going wrong then. Obviously a bit frustrating.
“This weekend, and last weekend really. It has just felt like the pace hasn’t come. Not 100% sure why yet. We will do some digging.”
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella stated: “There is a little bit to review on Oscar’s side. [It’s] more difficult for him to use the car when the conditions are more sliding. A little bit like the conditions were in Austin.”
Verstappen, who has closed to within 40 points of Piastri after three wins and a second-place finish in the past four races, appeared to struggle in the Red Bull. He experienced oversteer in the middle of the Esses, the rapid sequence of left-right turns in the middle sector, on nearly every lap.
“We tried a lot of stuff, even going into qualifying, and got it a little bit wrong in some areas of the track,” he explained.
“You only need to look at the onboard [camera], and you see enough.”
“All weekend, we couldn’t find the grip in the car, and it is something we need to understand. When you have those issues, you are sliding a lot, and on this track, you cannot afford that. This whole weekend has been tough.”
Comments can not be loaded
To load Comments you need to enable JavaScript in your browser