Lewis Hamilton put his Ferrari on pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix on Saturday, his first pole since joining the Scuderia and his first anywhere in more than three years. The result capped a sharp turnaround for the seven-time champion, who had struggled badly in Friday practice before finding pace when it counted in qualifying.

The session carried extra stakes beyond the front row. Kimi Antonelli arrives in Mexico City with a shot at history — per the Associated Press, the Mercedes rookie could become the youngest driver to achieve a career milestone on Sunday, adding another storyline to a race weekend already tilting Ferrari's way.

Behind the headline result, the stewards reshuffled the grid. Liam Lawson qualified eighth but will not start there: he was disqualified from qualifying after being cited for a failure to comply with regulations, wiping out one of his stronger Saturdays of the season. The penalty promotes the cars behind him and hands Lawson a recovery drive from the back of the order.

For Ferrari, the pole is a statement after a season of near-misses, and it puts Hamilton in clean air at a circuit where track position off the long run to Turn 1 is notoriously valuable. Whether he can convert from the front for the first time in red is now the defining question of Sunday's race.