Hamilton takes record 105th pole and first for Ferrari, as Antonelli lurks

MEXICO CITY, Mexico — Lewis Hamilton became the oldest man to claim a pole position since 1982 when he secured his first pole for Ferrari ahead of Mercedes' George Russell in Saturday's qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix. Hamilton and Russell needed to be fastest. They are the only drivers who have a chance of preventing Kimi Antonelli clinching the title on Sunday. Each of the front-row pair needs to win and hope the Italian finishes worse than ninth. For seven-time champion Hamilton it was a first pole success since the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2023 and enlarged his record total to 105 poles. It was his second pole in Mexico after taking the prime grid position in 2016. At 41, he became the oldest pole sitter since Mario Andrette claimed the final pole of his career aged 42 at the 1982 Italian Grand Prix, also for Ferrari. In a thrilling finale, Hamilton clocked a best lap of one minute and 16.514 seconds to outpace his former team-mate Russell by 0.009 seconds with his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc taking third place ahead of Red Bull's four-time champion Max Verstappen, who has a one-place grid penalty for Sunday's race. Antonelli was fifth for Mercedes ahead of McLaren's...