Lewis Hamilton makes history with an amazing pole lap at the Mexico City GP!
Lewis Hamilton made history with an amazing pole lap in Mexico City. At 41 years old, he became the oldest driver to take pole position since Mario Andretti in 1982 by setting the fastest time.
It was a close qualifying session, and both Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen made key mistakes on their final laps, leaving Hamilton just 0.009 seconds ahead of George Russell, with Leclerc in third place.
Even though Hamilton worked hard all weekend to find extra speed—using aero rakes on his car during practice for extra data—his teammate Leclerc seemed to have the edge for most of the weekend. But in the important final moments, Hamilton kept his cool while others struggled on the low-grip track.
This was Hamilton’s first pole for Ferrari, his first pole since the 2023 Hungarian GP with Mercedes, and the 105th pole of his career.
Afterwards, Hamilton said, “Wow, I’m speechless. It’s been a really tough weekend. We had a rake on the car and then an engine issue yesterday, which put us behind. I didn’t get a long run, but we did a great job with the setup.”
At 41, Hamilton says he doesn’t feel like an old veteran slowing down. “When you want something, you find a way. It’s all in your mind. Sure, we might feel aches here and there, but I’m lucky I don’t. I love what I do and that passion is still strong. I wake up thinking about racing every day. I have amazing support from fans around the world, and I hope I made them proud today. I can’t wait to give my best tomorrow.”