Mexico City Q1: Hadjar shocks the paddock as big names sweat in the thin air
If you were looking for a routine start to qualifying in Mexico City, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez had other plans. Under the grandstand’s rolling roar, an unexpected name topped the opening segment: Isack Hadjar, cool as you like, launched Racing Bulls to P1 in Q1 with a 1:16.733. Yes, really.
This place does funny things to form. At 2,200 meters, the engines gasp, the brakes cook, and the grip arrives in greedy chunks as rubber goes down. Lando Norris laid the early marker with a 1:17.1, then the track came to the drivers—fast. Oscar Piastri, momentarily hamstrung by a DRS glitch, plummeted down the order before dragging his McLaren back into safety on his second run.
The storyline, though, belonged to Hadjar, the rookie threading the stadium section with veteran calm and shrugging off the big guns by three thousandths. That big gun? Lewis Hamilton, who hustled the Ferrari to P2 ahead of George Russell’s Mercedes. McLaren looked lively, Norris fourth as Piastri clambered back to 10th. Haas had a proper spring in its step too, Esteban Ocon fifth and Oliver Bearman eighth, suggesting the VF-25 is breathing just fine at altitude.
Max Verstappen was only ninth after a scrappy segment by his standards, while Yuki Tsunoda pushed the senior Red Bull through in 13th. Williams split its fortunes: Carlos Sainz safe in P11, Alex Albon dumped out in 17th. Alpine fared worse — both cars gone, with Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto eliminated. Lance Stroll joined them on the sidelines after a rough session for Aston Martin, leaving Fernando Alonso to carry the green in Q2 from P12.
And the last man through? Kimi Antonelli, who squeezed the Mercedes into Q2 by half a tenth. No shortage of pressure on the 18-year-old, but he delivered when it mattered.
Q1 classification
– 1. Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls — 1:16.733
– 2. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari — +0.003
– 3. George Russell, Mercedes — +0.162
– 4. Lando Norris, McLaren — +0.166
– 5. Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team — +0.215
– 6. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls — +0.228
– 7. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari — +0.291
– 8. Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team — +0.307
– 9. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing — +0.343
– 10. Oscar Piastri, McLaren — +0.425
– 11. Carlos Sainz, Williams — +0.438
– 12. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin — +0.499
– 13. Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing — +0.501
– 14. Nico Hülkenberg, Kick Sauber — +0.518
– 15. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes — +0.558
Eliminated
– 16. Gabriel Bortoleto, Kick Sauber — +0.679
– 17. Alexander Albon, Williams — +0.757
– 18. Pierre Gasly, Alpine — +0.813
– 19. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin — +0.873
– 20. Franco Colapinto, Alpine — +0.937
A few takeaways before Q2 kicks off:
– Racing Bulls are absolutely in the window. Hadjar on top and Liam Lawson in sixth gives Faenza real ammunition for the long straights and heavy stops here. Their low-drag package is doing the talking.
– Ferrari’s balance looks sweet in the medium-speed stuff. Hamilton’s lap was tidy and Leclerc had margin to spare. Don’t be surprised if the Scuderia leans on the slipstream game as the track ramps again.
– McLaren dodged an early scare with Piastri’s DRS gremlin. If they can keep it clean, both cars are threats for the front two rows — Norris in particular looked hooked up through the esses.
– Red Bull’s head-scratching Q1 won’t rattle them yet, but Verstappen and Tsunoda will want proper banker laps in Q2. The field compression here is brutal; a tiny mistake costs metres on that endless front straight.
– Haas is the dark horse. Ocon and Bearman both looked confident on the brakes. If they can repeat those exits in the stadium, Q3 is on.
As ever, the stadium section was the heartbeat of it all — a wave of noise following each car as the times tumbled and confidence grew. Expect another step in grip as the sun dips and temperatures ease. The benchmark is a 1:16.7; it’ll take something special to find the next two tenths.
Q2 incoming. Helmets tightened. The altitude has already claimed a few surprises — it may not be done yet.
