2026 Mexico City Grand Prix - Qualifying Report

Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Saturday, 31 October

The MCL40’s inconsistency at crucial moments turned a promising day at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez into a disappointing Qualifying result for the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team, with Lando Norris finishing P6 and Oscar Piastri P13 ahead of tomorrow’s Mexico City Grand Prix, the worst result for the team on a Saturday during the 2026 season. 

The day began well with Lando finishing final practice top of the timesheet, and Oscar in P4. Performance looked stronger than in recent races, raising hopes of securing two high grid positions. The field was incredibly tight, however, with Lando’s advantage at the top just one-thousandth of a second and all of the usual suspects in contention heading into Qualifying. 

The Qualifying hour began with both cars comfortably progressing through Q1, despite the interruption of a Red Flag. Oscar just managed to complete a timed lap before it came out, but Lando had to abort his first effort. Both cars went out again at the resumption, on their original set of Soft tyres. Oscar opted to do a warm-up lap and went through in P4; Lando preferred to go on the first lap and finished the session in P7. 

Q2 was a strange session. Both drivers went out at the start, doing a single timed lap on their used tyres from Q1. Oscar’s first run was a reasonable banker, but Lando’s left him in P14. Both drivers then fitted a new set of tyres for a multi-lap run. Lando set a time good enough to progress, but with no obligation to look after the tyres, he went again after two cool-down laps and improved to finish the session in P1. 

Oscar’s second run didn’t come together. He aborted his first effort late and was falling down the order as he did two cool-down laps. With the clock ticking down, he needed an improvement on his second effort, but the gain was marginal and not enough to progress. Having been competitive up to that point, the Number 81 car was caught out by the MCL40’s inconsistency and a sudden loss of rear grip, leaving him out in Q2. Attention then turned to Lando, who had a place on at least the first two rows within reach. There were different ways to approach the session but no clear consensus on which was best, with each team doing something different. Lando opted for a single push-lap on his first run, following a warm-up lap. That left him P3. Cars behind had taken the same approach, but the two cars ahead had gone on the first lap. Lando chose to switch to that approach on his second run, but the car’s inconsistency struck again at a crucial moment. He had to abort midway through the lap, with a messy corner ending his challenge. His first timed lap left him three-tenths of a second off Pole and down in P6, such was the competitive level. 

Attention now turns to the race, where the team will aim to build on the strong long-run performance shown in Free Practice. Overtaking looks difficult around the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, but Lando remains in a position to fight for a podium, while Oscar’s objective is to move into the points.  

With the battle for third place wide open, flawless execution will be crucial to making the most of the team’s pace. Understanding and addressing the car’s inconsistency also remains a priority for the final races of this season and, above all, next season. 

In other action around the globe, McLaren Driver Development member Christian Costoya claimed a podium finish at Mugello Circuit in the final round of the 2026 Italian F4 Championship. The Spanish driver made a strong start, overtaking through the middle to move up into second place, a position he held to the Chequered Flag with a strong defensive drive while under pressure.  

"A challenging afternoon. My Q2 lap was incredibly strong, but it was unrealistic to expect a repeat of that in Q3 with the car currently not consistent enough from one run to the next, so putting together two strong laps is a real challenge. I don’t think we had more than this result available today as Pole wasn't within our reach.  

"We’ll work towards tomorrow’s race now. We know that overtaking looks incredibly challenging with the speed limiter, but we’ll do our best to gain positions from sixth to secure strong points for the team."

"A frustrating Qualifying today. Up until Q2, we were in a really competitive position. The car felt well-balanced throughout Free Practice 3 and during the first phase of Qualifying, but the moment we fitted the new set of tyres, its behaviour completely changed. It was a bizarre situation after making only minor setup tweaks, so we’ll need to investigate thoroughly to understand what went wrong. 

"Looking ahead to tomorrow's race, our objective remains to push forward and fight our way into the points. We know we have solid underlying race pace, but overtaking around this circuit will be extremely tough with the current straight-line speed characteristics and limited slipstream effect. It will require a calculated and determined drive through the field, but we will make the most of every opportunity to progress." 

Andrea Stella 

Team Principal 

"A result that certainly leaves a bitter taste in our mouths. To be honest, we were hoping to secure two good positions on the starting grid, because our performance seemed to be better than what we’d seen in recent races, but the MCL40’s inconsistency let us down at the crucial moments. It happened first with Oscar in Q2, and it’s a shame because up until that point he’d shown himself to be very competitive, even on a track that’s certainly not best suited to his style. Then it was Lando’s turn on his second attempt in Q3, when a place in at least the first two rows was definitely within his reach.  

"We know that when the drivers push this car to the absolute limit, its behaviour can sometimes be unpredictable, even more so when racing in windy conditions and on a slippery track: the slightest snap can easily result in a sudden loss of grip, which comes at a high cost. This makes the drivers’ task very difficult and demands flawless execution from the whole team: it’s up to us to put ourselves in the best possible position to showcase our pace, both in this final stage of the season and, above all, next season.  

"For tomorrow, we’ll aim to make the most of the strong stamina we demonstrated in Free Practice to try and achieve the best possible result. Lando is still in a position to fight for a podium finish, whilst it’s clear that Oscar’s aim is to finish in the points and thus demonstrate that his progress can translate into a good result. The battle for third place is wide open, and we must do everything we can to secure at least that result."