Norris detonates Mexico City qualifying with a lap to remember as Leclerc, Hamilton close, Verstappen only fifth
That was ruthless. Lando Norris found another gear at altitude and planted his McLaren on pole with a final lap that left the Foro Sol crowd buzzing and everyone else shrugging. Charles Leclerc will share the front row, Lewis Hamilton starts third, while Max Verstappen could only wring fifth out of a capricious Red Bull. Oscar Piastri rescued a tricky afternoon to qualify eighth, which will become seventh on the grid thanks to Carlos Sainz’s five-place penalty from Austin.
The session ebbed and ramped with the Mexico City circuit’s usual late grip, but Norris looked in command from the first timed laps. He banked a 1:16.170 on his opener in Q3, then came back with something vicious: purple in every sector for a 1:15.586 that flattened Leclerc’s late surge and bottled up Hamilton’s own bid. George Russell split the Ferraris in early running, but ends up fourth, just ahead of Verstappen, who had the car dancing on him through the middle sector.
Piastri had the messier route. A DRS gremlin and a power unit anomaly report in the earlier phases left him scrapping for rhythm, and only in the last runs did he string together the sort of lap that looked like it belonged in the fight; a 1:16.174 ultimately translated to eighth on the sheet. With Sainz demoted five for that carry-over penalty, Piastri moves to row four alongside a very tidy Kimi Antonelli, who continued to look like he’s been doing this for years rather than months, planting the Mercedes sixth.
Up front, the storyline was all about timing and nerve. As the sun dropped and the asphalt cooled, the track came to the drivers in chunks. Leclerc found seven tenths between Q2 and Q3. Hamilton flicked the Ferrari into the top three with a pinpoint middle sector. And yet Norris kept one in his pocket. He’d been four tenths clear in sector one on his first flier of the day and kept repeating the trick whenever it mattered.
Behind them, Verstappen wrestled an RB that never quite gave him the support under braking he usually leans on here. He flirted with a slipstream down to Turn 4 on his initial Q3 attempt but lost it again through the esses. He’ll start smack in the hornet’s nest, which around Mexico is always interesting — the tow to Turn 1 is long enough to change the order before anyone hits the brakes.
There were subplots everywhere. Alonso, who lost soft-tyre running with late FP3 dramas, couldn’t dig himself out in Q2. Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon and Nico Hülkenberg joined him on the wrong side of the cut, while Liam Lawson’s off-sequence gambit didn’t pay and he bowed out in Q2 as well after aborting laps that failed to materialize. Q1 turned into a slipstream lottery as the surface cleaned up; Isack Hadjar went fastest at the flag, which told you everything about the ramp. Gabriel Bortoleto lost a banker to track limits into the stadium, then tumbled out with Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll and Franco Colapinto.
For the rookies, it was a day to frame. Hadjar coolly hustled the Racing Bulls into Q3 and will start ninth once Sainz drops. Oliver Bearman put the Haas in the top 10 too, converting a strong build-up and giving the team every chance to turn a single-lap punch into points. Tsunoda, knocked out in 11th on paper, is the quiet winner from Sainz’s penalty — he’s promoted to the fifth row for Sunday.
The grid at the sharp end, then, has a particular edge to it. Norris versus Leclerc into that interminable run to Turn 1. Hamilton lurking with race-day instincts and a Ferrari that’s been sweet on traction. Russell close enough to pounce. Verstappen bottled up in traffic with a car he doesn’t quite trust. And Piastri needing a clean launch to turn damage limitation into something more threatening.
Mexico’s thin air will complicate everything. Engines make power but cooling margins are tight. Brakes run hot. DRS is less potent, so overtakes need craft rather than just drag reduction. Tyre warm-up can sting those who get greedy. This was a big, timely pole for Norris in the context of the title fight — and it won’t be an easy one to defend. But on Saturday, when the circuit was at its most treacherous and the stopwatch most cruel, he was the one man who could make it sing.
POLE. Mexico City. Mega from Lando. 🇲🇽
— McLaren (@McLarenF1)October 25, 2025
Key notes
– Front row: Norris (McLaren) from Leclerc (Ferrari); Hamilton (Ferrari) starts P3, Russell (Mercedes) P4.
– Verstappen (Red Bull) P5 after a scrappy middle sector; Antonelli (Mercedes) P6.
– Sainz (Williams) qualified P7 but serves a five-place grid penalty; Piastri (McLaren) rises to P7, Hadjar (Racing Bulls) P8, Bearman (Haas) P9, Tsunoda (Red Bull) P10.
– Track ramp and altitude played havoc; Alonso’s FP3 issues lingered into qualifying; rookies Hadjar and Bearman starred.
