Lando Norris delivered under pressure to seize a pivotal pole position in the 2025 F1 title race, mastering qualifying at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez as championship rivals Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri underperformed.
The McLaren driver produced a blistering 1m15.586s lap in Q3 to edge out Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, claiming his first pole since Belgium and boosting his title challenge.
Leclerc had briefly led the shootout before Norris’s late flyer turned the tables, leaving Hamilton third and George Russell fourth for Mercedes.
“It was one of those laps that just clicked,” Norris said over team radio as cheers erupted from the McLaren garage.
Verstappen, meanwhile, endured another tough session in Mexico’s thin air. Struggling for grip through the high-speed Esses, the Red Bull driver could do no better than fifth – a result that leaves him with work to do on race day.
Piastri’s Pain Continues
For points leader Oscar Piastri, qualifying was another sign of a weekend out of rhythm. The Australian looked adrift of Norris throughout and could manage only eighth, behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Carlos Sainz — though Sainz’s five-place grid penalty will promote Piastri to seventh.
Piastri narrowly scraped into Q3 after a tense Q2, advancing by just 0.079s over Yuki Tsunoda.
Even on new softs, he couldn’t match the pace of his teammate, with Norris topping the segment by two tenths from Hamilton.
Rookies Shine, Big Names Stumble
It was a strong session for F1’s next generation, as Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman both reached Q3. The rookie pair will start side by side on the fifth row, ahead of several seasoned names who failed to make the cut.
Behind them, Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon were the first to miss out in Q2, joined by Nico Hülkenberg, Fernando Alonso, and Liam Lawson – the latter losing time with a messy final lap.
Earlier, a rapidly improving track in Q1 caused chaos, with Hadjar stunning the field by going fastest ahead of Hamilton, Russell, and Norris.
As qualifying wrapped, a confident Norris stood tall – pole in hand, rivals on the back foot, and the championship battle wide open heading into Sunday’s Mexican showdown.
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