Lewis Hamilton recalls Michael Schumacher memories after first Ferrari pole

Lewis Hamilton has drawn a direct line between his first Ferrari pole position and memories of watching Michael Schumacher dominate qualifying for the Scuderia, after ending a three-year wait for the top spot on the grid in Mexico City.

The seven-time world champion topped qualifying at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez with a lap of one minute 16.514s, edging out Mercedes' George Russell by just 0.009 seconds. Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc will start third.

It is Hamilton's first pole since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, a gap stretching to 78 race weekends. At 41, he also becomes the oldest polesitter since Mario Andretti in the 1982 Italian GP.

Speaking to the media, including RacingNews365, Hamilton confirmed the achievement carried extra emotional weight given his history with the sport's most successful Ferrari driver.

"It definitely does [matter a lot]," Hamilton said. "It's been a long time since I think I've sat in this spot. I don't really remember the last time I had a pole.

"Embarking on this journey with Ferrari and all the challenges and ups and downs we've had, and even yesterday was challenging, obviously, when the car stopped on track, and we lost the long run that everyone got to do.

"But just continuing to hold on to that hope that one day we'll get back on the front row and to P1 once we dialled the car in.

Extolling his "belief in this team, the opportunity that they've given me and the belief and faith they've put in me", he proclaimed it "great to be able to reward them with a pole".

He then pertinently added: "And to have your first Ferrari pole, it just takes me back to watching Michael get all those pole positions when he was at Ferrari and all those wins. So, it's very, very special."

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Hamilton had to be "millimetre perfect"

Hamilton also detailed the margins involved in beating Leclerc to the top spot, with the Monégasque setting the pace on the first runs in Q3 before the Briton found more on his final attempt.

"It was such a close qualifying and so difficult, I think, for everyone, working the tyres," he said. "So little downforce and grip that you have on here, so you just have to be as millimetre perfect as you can be.

"It was a really, really clean lap. I needed it because Charles was three or four tenths up the road from the first run, and that's quite a big deficit to close on your last lap.

"But I knew areas that I could improve on. I just got the tyres in the perfect window on that out-lap. Once I was through Turns 1, 2 and 3, it was kind of smooth from there, and I just don't think I lost any time anywhere, to be honest.

"So, it was just an overall good lap, but I know these guys are super close."