‘Wow!’ – Hamilton reacts to ‘special’ maiden pole with Ferrari at Mexico City GP

Lewis Hamilton was nearly left speechless after he secured his first pole position with Ferrari at the Mexico City Grand Prix, ending a three-year wait to return to the top spot in Qualifying.

The Briton’s last pole came at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, but just over four months on from his maiden victory for the Scuderia, he pipped Mercedes’ George Russell to clinch P1 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Hamilton had set the pace in the opening segment of Qualifying before finding himself with work to do after his first run in Q3. Amid tight competition, he managed to deliver when it mattered, posting a 1m 16.514s to clear Russell by just 0.009s and take the 105th pole of his F1 career.

“Wow! That felt great,” he said straight after the session. “That feels good. So happy. Oh man, I'm lost for words. It's been a really, really tough, challenging weekend.

“Obviously, FP1, we had a rake running, and we obviously then had the engine issue we had yesterday, which meant that we were just on the back foot. I didn't get to do a long run. But we've really done a good job with the set-up over the weekend.

“We've really worked, we've learned a lot from the last race. But it's so close between us all, you know. And, for example, Q2, I didn't get my lap at the beginning. I think the others had a new tyre for the start.

“But wow, to have pole here, I mean, I don't even know if I've had a pole here before. So it feels special to be in Mexico and get that. My first, I think this is my first pole with Ferrari. And 105... I like that number.”

Hamilton did indeed qualify in first place at this track back in 2016, making it the 22nd circuit he has taken more than one pole position at. On top of that, he has also become the oldest polesitter since Mario Andretti at the 1982 Italian Grand Prix.

When informed of his new record, he replied: “When there's a will, there's a way, you know? And I think it's all in the mind, honestly. I think for all of us, you know, for sure you might feel aches and pains. I, luckily, don't.

“I mean, I ice bath a lot. I do all those different things that you can do to try and keep yourself young and fit. But I love what I do. And that love is not gone, you know. I wake up every day thinking about it.

“I dream about it. And I've got this amazing support around the world that keeps me going. And so I hope they're happy with that today, and I hope that I can deliver for them tomorrow.”

He will have an opportunity to chase down a second victory of the season when the Mexico City Grand Prix gets underway at 1400 local time tomorrow, which would give him an upper hand in the ongoing battle for P2 in the Drivers’ Championship.