Liam Lawson has been disqualified from Mexican GP qualifying, and with Racing Bulls changing power unit components and suspension set-up, he will start the race from the pit lane. The final grid therefore has 21 cars lined up and Lawson in the pit lane, with Hamilton, Russell, Leclerc and Antonelli at the front.
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Why he was disqualified: an MGU-K breach
According to Crash.net, Lawson was disqualified from qualifying for failing to comply with MGU-K requirements after his fastest lap in Q2. He had been classified eighth in that session. The stewards said the car did not lift off the power immediately after the control line, so the required MGU-K step-down was not achieved, and that the team self-disclosed the breach but precedent demands a disqualification, the report says. GPblog also described a breach of the technical regulations concerning the MGU-K. RacingNews365 and GPFans, by contrast, only wrote of a technical infringement without detail, and no outlet cited an article number.
How it became a pit lane start
GPFans reported that Lawson was first given permission to start from the back of the grid. But Racing Bulls then fitted a raft of new engine components and changed the suspension set-up, so he now starts from the pit lane. GPblog said the stewards additionally cited an unapproved suspension change under parc fermé, work beyond covers-on time, and unauthorised power unit parts (a fifth ICE, fifth turbo and fifth exhaust set and a seventh PU ancillary, all over the seasonal allocation), and that a cumulative 40 grid places were absorbed into the mandatory pit lane start. Only GPblog gave those details, so they are not confirmed elsewhere.
The rest of the grid
The grid order is identical across all four outlets. The front of the race grid:
| Pos | Driver (team) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) | Pole, 1:16.514 (GPblog) |
| 2 | George Russell (Mercedes) | 0.009s behind |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) | |
| 4 | Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) | Up one place from fifth in qualifying |
| 5 | Max Verstappen (Red Bull) | Fourth in qualifying, one-place penalty |
| 6 | Lando Norris (McLaren) | |
| 21 | Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) | 50-place penalty, last |
| Pit lane | Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) | Disqualified from qualifying, pit lane start |
Verstappen's one-place penalty is for his FP2 clash with Lawson and was already known. Bottas's 50 places come from Cadillac's power unit component changes, though as he is already last it costs him nothing in practice, GPFans wrote. Tyre allocation, weather and start time do not appear in these reports and are not covered here.
Sources
- RacingNews365 — 2026 F1 Mexico City Grand Prix starting grid after Max Verstappen penalty and disqualification
- GPFans — Amended F1 2026 Mexican Grand Prix starting grid with all late FIA penalties applied
- Crash.net — F1 2026 Mexico Grand Prix: Updated starting grid after Liam Lawson thrown out of qualifying
- GPblog — Final Mexican GP starting grid confirmed as Hamilton on pole