Lando Norris earned McLaren the pole at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez during Saturday’s (Oct. 25) qualifying for the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix.
Norris set the fast lap with a time of 1:15.586. As such, he won his first ever pole at the track and fifth pole of the season, along with the 14th of his career.
Norris puts pressure on McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, who will start from seventh on the grid after having difficulty matching his teammate’s pace throughout the session. This presents a chance for Norris to eat into his championship lead on Sunday.
“I’m happy to be back on pole,” Norris said. “It’s actually been quite a long time, so a good feeling. It was one of those laps where you don’t really know what happened. It felt decent, but when I came across the line and it read 15.5, I was very pleasantly surprised.
“I’ve been feeling good all weekend, especially from today like FP3, Q1, Q2 and Q3. I got a little bit nervous of [Leclerc] in Q3 at the end, but I pulled it out when it mattered, and I’m happy because of that.”
Q3
Charles Leclerc challenged Norris early for his pole before being usurped in the final run, being the first to cross into the 75-second range. His Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton, who was second in the previous two sessions, will start third on row two with Mercedes’s George Russell joining the seven-time champion.
Max Verstappen was good enough for fifth but will also have the opportunity to close in on Piastri. Kimi Antonelli joined the Dutchman on row three.
Carlos Sainz qualified seventh, but will have to serve a five-place grid penalty for his contact with Antonelli in the last race at Circuit of the Americas.
Piastri, Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman rounded out the top 10.
| Pos. | Driver No. | Driver | Team | Time from Pole |
| 1. | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:15.586 |
| 2. | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.262s |
| 3. | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.352s |
| 4. | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.448s |
| 5. | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.484s |
| 6. | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.532s |
| 7. | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | +0.586s |
| 8. | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.588s |
| 9. | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | +0.666s |
| 10. | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | +0.874s |
Q2
Piastri still had issues during the session, being just under half a second behind his McLaren teammate and briefly being in danger of missing Q3. He was able to avoid that with a sufficient final run.
Liam Lawson aborted multiple laps and couldn’t lay down a competitive time, complaining that he had zero grip in the session.
Both Mercedes and Ferrari cars made Q3, as well as Hadjar, Bearman and Sainz.
Norris topped Q2 with a time of 1:16.252, two tenths clear of his nearest challenger, Hamilton
| Pos. | Driver No. | Driver | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 11. | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | +0.012s |
| 12. | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | +0.033s |
| 13. | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | KICK Sauber | +0.212s |
| 14. | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +0.299s |
| 15. | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +1.268s |
Q1
Piastri reported DRS issues in his first run but quickly turned it around in the session to advance.
Antonelli found a time in his final run good enough to stave off challenges from Gabriel Bortoleto and Alexander Albon, who battled brake issues throughout the weekend.
Hadjar surprisingly topped the session by .003 seconds over Hamilton with a lap time of 1:16.733. This was Racing Bull’s first time leading any qualifying session all season.
| Pos. | Driver No. | Driver | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 16. | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | KICK Sauber | +0.121s |
| 17. | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | +0.199s |
| 18. | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +0.255s |
| 19. | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +0.315s |
| 20. | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | +0.379s |
2025 F1 Mexico City GP Qualifying Results
The green flag will fly at Mexico City on Sunday (Oct. 26) at 4 p.m. ET with coverage in the United States provided by ABC.
Wyatt Watson has followed motorsports closely since 2007. He joined Frontstretch as a journalist in February 2023 after serving in the United States Navy for five years as an Electronic Technician Navigation working on submarines. Wyatt is one of Frontstretch's primary IndyCar correspondents, providing exclusive video content on site. He hosts Frontstretch's Through the Gears podcast and occasionally The Pit Straight.You can find Wyatt's written work in columns such as Friday Faceoff and 2-Headed Monsteras well as exclusive IndyCar features. Wyatt also contributes to Frontstretch's social media team, posting unique and engaging content for Frontstretch.
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