Lando Norris took pole position for the 2025 F1 Mexico Grand Prix with a sensational final lap in Q3 in qualifying on Saturday. The McLaren driver 'pleasantly surprised' himself with the pole lap, which was over four-tenths quicker than Charles Leclerc's provisional pole lap.Norris went purple (fastest time) in each sector and set the best lap time of the entire weekend up until qualifying - 1:15.586. Leclerc, who will start on the front row beside him, improved on his provisional pole lap but could do no better than 1:15.848, still two and a half-tenths slower than the McLaren driver.Norris was delighted with his lap and said on team radio:"Ah, what a lap! What a lap! Even I don't know how I did that."His race engineer calmly replied:"Doesn't matter. It was a good lap."Lando Norris seconded his engineer's 'doesn't matter' comment, replying:"I know. The less I know the better."It seemed as if Norris, who was quickest in FP3 earlier in the day, overperformed in the MCL39 because his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, qualified in an unusually low eighth place. However, the championship leader will start the Mexico GP a place ahead in P7, with Carlos Sainz in front of him carrying over a five-place grid penalty for causing a collision with Andrea Kimi Antonelli at the United States GP last weekend.Championship contender Max Verstappen qualified in P5. The Red Bull driver had trouble maneuvering the S-shaped sections between Turns 7 and 11, sliding the rear of his RB21 on nearly every lap in qualifying.Lando Norris "happy" to pull off might pole lap after Ferrari drivers made him 'nervous' in Mexico GP qualifyingCharles Leclerc, Lando Norris, and Lewis Hamilton at the F1 Mexico Grand Prix Qualifying - Source: GettyBefore Lando Norris' pole lap, which earned him his 14th career F1 pole, it seemed as if Ferrari had the top spot locked down with Charles Leclerc going quickest on the first run. Lewis Hamilton had the best qualifying of his year, securing P3 on the grid.In the post-qualifying F1TV interview with James Hinchcliffe, Norris shared his feelings about the lap and how Ferrari made him nervous after their first flying runs."I'm happy to be back on pole," Norris said. "It's actually been a really long time. So, good feeling. The lap, I don't know. It was one of those laps, you don't know what happened. It felt decent, but when I crossed the line and saw a 1:15.5, I was very pleasantly surprised.""I've been feeling good all weekend, especially from today. Like FP3, Q1, Q2, Q3. I got a little bit nervous with the Ferrari in Q3 at the end, but I pulled it out when it mattered and I'm happy because of that," the McLaren driver added.Championship leader Oscar Piastri will have an uphill battle in the race on Sunday to make his way forward through a tight grid. Lando Norris is 14 points behind the Australian in the standings, a gap that he could close and become the new championship leader based on their qualifying positions.
"Even I don't know how I did that": Lando Norris' shocked reaction to securing pole position for the F1 Mexican GP
Lando Norris took pole position for the 2025 F1 Mexico Grand Prix with a sensational final lap in Q3 in qualifying on Saturday. The McLaren driver 'pleasantly surprised' himself with the pole lap, which was over four-tenths quicker than Charles Leclerc's provisional pole lap.Norris went purple (fastest time) in each sector and set the best lap time of the entire weekend up until qualifying - 1:15.586. Leclerc, who will start on the front row beside him, improved on his provisional pole lap but could do no better than 1:15.848, still two and a half-tenths slower than the McLaren driver.Norris was delighted with his lap and said on team radio:"Ah, what a lap! What a lap! Even I don't know how I did that."His race engineer calmly replied:"Doesn't matter. It was a good lap."Lando Norris seconded his engineer's 'doesn't matter' comment, replying:"I know. The less I know the better."It seemed as if Norris, who was quickest in FP3 earlier in the day, overperformed in the MCL39 because his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, qualified in an unusually low eighth place. However, the championship leader will start the Mexico GP a place ahead in P7, with Carlos Sainz in front of him carrying over a five-place grid penalty for causing a collision with Andrea Kimi Antonelli at the United States GP last weekend.Championship contender Max Verstappen qualified in P5. The Red Bull driver had trouble maneuvering the S-shaped sections between Turns 7 and 11, sliding the rear of his RB21 on nearly every lap in qualifying.Lando Norris "happy" to pull off might pole lap after Ferrari drivers made him 'nervous' in Mexico GP qualifyingCharles Leclerc, Lando Norris, and Lewis Hamilton at the F1 Mexico Grand Prix Qualifying - Source: GettyBefore Lando Norris' pole lap, which earned him his 14th career F1 pole, it seemed as if Ferrari had the top spot locked down with Charles Leclerc going quickest on the first run. Lewis Hamilton had the best qualifying of his year, securing P3 on the grid.In the post-qualifying F1TV interview with James Hinchcliffe, Norris shared his feelings about the lap and how Ferrari made him nervous after their first flying runs."I'm happy to be back on pole," Norris said. "It's actually been a really long time. So, good feeling. The lap, I don't know. It was one of those laps, you don't know what happened. It felt decent, but when I crossed the line and saw a 1:15.5, I was very pleasantly surprised.""I've been feeling good all weekend, especially from today. Like FP3, Q1, Q2, Q3. I got a little bit nervous with the Ferrari in Q3 at the end, but I pulled it out when it mattered and I'm happy because of that," the McLaren driver added.Championship leader Oscar Piastri will have an uphill battle in the race on Sunday to make his way forward through a tight grid. Lando Norris is 14 points behind the Australian in the standings, a gap that he could close and become the new championship leader based on their qualifying positions.
