Mexico City starting grid shaken after penalties for Verstappen and others

The Mexico City Grand Prix starting grid will not resemble the outcome of qualifying at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Among the affected drivers, Max Verstappen faces a grid penalty for the upcoming race. Lewis Hamilton secured pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix after narrowly finishing ahead of his former teammate, George Russell.

Charles Leclerc claimed the third spot in qualifying and will start from the second row, alongside Kimi Antónsson, who could potentially secure his first world championship title if he earns at least two points or if neither Hamilton nor Russell earns all 25 points available. Antónsson was promoted to fourth place due to Verstappen's one-place grid penalty following his FP2 collision with Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson, pushing the Dutch driver to fifth place.

Defending world champion Lando Norris will occupy the third row. Antonello possesses the potential to clinch his title this weekend. Isack Hadjar is scheduled to start from seventh place, followed by Racing Bulls Arvid Lindblad. Liam Lawson started the race in ninth place but due to a one-place grid penalty for the incident with Verstappen, he was originally set to start from 10th place.

However, he was disqualified from qualifying due to his car's failure to comply with the technical regulations for the MGU-K, consequently starting from the back of the grid. Saturday was a disappointing day for Oscar Piastri. The Australian was eliminated in Q2 and will begin the race from the twelfth position. Valtteri Bottas of Cadillac will start from the twenty-first place after receiving a 50-place grid penalty for the Mexico City Grand Prix.