Mexico City starting grid shaken after penalties for Verstappen and others
Photo: Race Pictures
Kada Sárközi joined GPblog as an editor ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season. He graduated with a BA in Sports Journalism in the UK and has covered Grands Prix and other F1 events live.
The Mexico City Grand Prix starting grid will look different from how qualifying ended at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Among others, Max Verstappen also has a grid penalty for the upcoming race.
Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix after the Briton marginally finished ahead of his former teammate, George Russell.
Charles Leclerc completed the top three in qualifying on Saturday and will start from the second row. There, he will be joined by Kimi Antonelli, who could secure his first world title if he scores at least two points or if neither Hamilton nor Russell scores all 25 points available.
Antonelli was promoted to fourth place because Verstappen had received a one-place grid penalty following his FP2 collision with Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson. This relegated the Dutch driver to fifth place. He will be joined by defending world champion Lando Norris on the third row.
Antonelli can secure his title this weekend - Photo: Race Pictures
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Isack Hadjar is set to start from seventh place. Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad will line up alongside the Frenchman. Liam Lawson originally qualified in ninth place. Because of a one-place grid penalty for the incident with Verstappen, he was meant to start from 10th place. However, he was also disqualified from qualifying because his car failed to comply with the technical regulations for the MGU-K. As a result, the New Zealander will start from the back of the grid.
Saturday was a day to forget for Oscar Piastri. The Australian was knocked out in Q2 and is only set to start from 12th place.
Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas will start from 21st place after receiving a 50-place grid penalty for the Mexico City Grand Prix. See the provisional starting grid below!
Starting Grid - 2026 F1 Mexico City Grand Prix
| Row 1: | Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) | |
| George Russell (Mercedes) | ||
| Row 2: | Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) | |
| Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) | ||
| Row 3: | Max Verstappen (Red Bull) | |
| Lando Norris (McLaren) | ||
| Row 4: | Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) | |
| Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) | ||
| Row 5: | Pierre Gasly (Alpine) | |
| Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) | ||
| Row 6: | Franco Colapinto (Alpine) | |
| Oscar Piastri (McLaren) | ||
| Row 7: | Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) | |
| Oliver Bearman (Haas) | ||
| Row 8: | Carlos Sainz (Williams) | |
| Alex Albon (Williams) | ||
| Row 9: | Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) | |
| Ryo Hirakawa (Haas) | ||
| Row 10: | Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) | |
| Sergio Perez (Cadillac) | ||
| Row 11: | Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) | |
| Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) |
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