Lewis Hamilton and George Russell smile ahead of the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix — Photo: © IMAGO

Mexican Grand Prix

Amended F1 2026 Mexican Grand Prix starting grid with all late FIA penalties applied

All set for lights out in Mexico City

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Sunday 1 November 2026 08:29

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The FIA have confirmed the provisional grid for Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton will start from pole position for Ferrari for the first time in his career.

The seven-time world champion pipped his former Mercedes team-mate George Russell to top spot in qualifying by just 0.009 seconds, with the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc lining up in third place.

Max Verstappen qualified fourth but will take a one-place grid penalty following collision with Liam Lawson during Friday free practice so will start in fifth place.

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That promotes Kimi Antonelli into fourth on an afternoon where the Italian only needs two points with a ninth place finish to be certain of becoming F1's youngest ever world champion.

Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas was hit with a huge 50-grid place penalty following a raft of component changes in his car, but having qualified in last anyway will suffer no realistic penalty.

Liam Lawson was disqualified from qualifying after a technical infringement but has been given permission to start from the back of the grid.

Here is the provisional grid for the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday, which is subject to change ahead of a final confirmation from the FIA.

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F1 starting grid - 2026 Mexican Grand Prix

The full final starting grid ahead of Sunday's action in Mexico City, as revealed by the FIA, is as follows...

F1 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix Starting Grid (Provisional)
Pos	Driver	Team
1	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari
2	George Russell	Mercedes
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari
4	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes
5	Max Verstappen*	Red Bull
6	Lando Norris	McLaren
7	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull
8	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls
9	Pierre Gasly	Alpine
10	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi
11	Franco Colapinto	Alpine
12	Oscar Piastri	McLaren
13	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi
14	Oliver Bearman	Haas
15	Carlos Sainz	Williams
16	Alexander Albon	Williams
17	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin
18	Ryo Hirakawa	Haas
19	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin
20	Sergio Perez	Cadillac
21	Valtteri Bottas**	Cadillac
22	Liam Lawson***	Racing Bulls

* One-place grid penalty following the practice collision.

** 50-place grid penalty for power unit component changes.

*** Disqualified from qualifying after technical infringement.

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Written by

Dan Ripley - Global Editor

I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.

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