Hamilton Extends Record Pole Career Span with Mexico City Pole

Lewis Hamilton’s 105th career pole at the Mexico City Grand Prix extends his record span between a first and most recent F1 pole to 19 years, 4 months and 22 days. His maiden pole came in Montreal in 2007; nearly two decades later, he is still adding to the tally.

Why it matters:

The mark underlines rare longevity in F1, where qualifying form can fade with rule changes, team switches and younger rivals. It also gives Ferrari a positive 2026 subplot after a difficult 2025, with Hamilton’s stronger qualifying form part of the team’s improved competitiveness.

The details:

• Hamilton peaked with 12 poles in 2016 and reached double figures in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020. In the ground-effect era he took only one pole, in Hungary in 2023.
• Kimi Räikkönen is second at 15 years, 2 months and 4 days, from the 2003 European GP to Ferrari’s home race in 2018; his 2017 Monaco pole ended a nine-year drought.
• Rubens Barrichello is third at 15 years, 1 month and 20 days, from a wet Spa gamble with Jordan in 1994 to Interlagos with Brawn in 2009.
• Mario Andretti is fourth at 13 years, 11 months and 6 days, from his Watkins Glen debut pole in 1968 to a stand-in Ferrari pole at Monza in 1982.
• Alain Prost (12y 2m 22d) and Michael Schumacher (12y 2m 1d) follow. Schumacher was fastest in Monaco qualifying in 2012 but started outside pole after a grid penalty.
• The rest of the top 10: Riccardo Patrese (11y 5m 1d), Giancarlo Fisichella (11y 1m 4d), Sebastian Vettel (11y 29d) and Jack Brabham (10y 9m 1d).

What’s next:

Hamilton’s record will grow with each future pole, but its real value will be measured by whether his 2026 qualifying revival turns into race wins and a title challenge for Ferrari.