2026 Mexico City GP: why Bortoleto starts 13th

Gabriel Bortoleto starts the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix in 13th because Liam Lawson, eighth fastest in qualifying, was disqualified from the session for a technical breach. Once Lawson no longer held a position earned by his lap time, the drivers behind him moved up on the adjusted grid. Bortoleto, originally 14th, gained one place. Separately, Max Verstappen dropped from fourth to fifth, while Valtteri Bottas remained near the rear after a power-unit component penalty.

Qualifying and the grid record different things

The qualifying result preserves the times set on track. Bortoleto recorded a 1:17.680, finished 14th and was eliminated in Q2. Lawson reached Q3 and set the eighth-fastest time, a 1:17.029. Lewis Hamilton took pole with a 1:16.514, only 0.009 seconds ahead of George Russell, according to the FIA’s official report.

Those figures explain the sporting result of the session, but they do not by themselves determine the starting formation. The grid also incorporates disqualifications, position drops and consequences for using car components. In the table published by Formula 1, Bortoleto is listed 13th, Bottas 21st and Lawson 22nd.

It would therefore be inaccurate to say that Bortoleto “qualified 13th.” He remains recorded as having set the 14th-fastest time; 13th is his place on the reorganized starting grid.

Why Bortoleto gained one position

The change is the direct result of Lawson’s disqualification from qualifying. The official grid note says the New Zealander committed a technical breach of the rules and was allowed to race at the stewards’ discretion. The documentation available here, however, does not describe the measurement, procedure or component behind the non-compliance.

The sources read therefore do not support more specific claims about an MGU-K power reduction or the application of Articles C5.12.6 and C5.12.7. Confirming those details would require the FIA’s complete technical ruling. The narrower conclusion supported by the available documents is that Lawson was disqualified for a technical breach, lost the position earned by his time and was placed at the back of the grid.

The effect on Bortoleto is straightforward. With the eighth-placed driver removed from the sequence used to form the grid, the Brazilian moved from the 14th-fastest time to 13th on the starting grid. Oliver Bearman, Carlos Sainz and other drivers behind Lawson also advanced, subject to the remaining penalties.

Lawson could start despite the disqualification

Disqualification from the session did not, in this case, amount to exclusion from the race. The official table puts Lawson 22nd and records that he races at the stewards’ discretion. His lap time no longer secured a regular grid position, but that permission allowed him to be included in last place.

Lawson already carried a separate sanction. He and Verstappen had each received a one-place grid drop and one penalty point for an incident in second practice. According to Formula 1’s account of the decision, the stewards considered both drivers’ moves around Turns 12 and 13 unnecessary.

The contact damaged the Red Bull’s floor and the Racing Bulls’ front wing, and prompted a red flag so debris could be cleared. For Lawson, the later technical disqualification had a broader effect on his position than the isolated one-place penalty.

Verstappen and Bottas moved back for different reasons

Verstappen set the fourth-fastest time but starts fifth, behind Kimi Antonelli. That reversal results from the one-place penalty for the practice incident, not from Lawson’s technical breach. Antonelli, fifth in qualifying, consequently moved to fourth on the grid.

Bottas represents a third kind of adjustment. He had set the 22nd-fastest time, and the official note says he starts from the back after taking multiple new power-unit components. Because Lawson was moved into the final position, Bottas appears 21st in the table.

This does not mean Bottas’s penalty was cancelled. The combination of decisions simply placed Lawson behind him. The three cases should not be treated as a single type of “grid penalty”: they involve a technical disqualification from qualifying, a sporting penalty for conduct in practice and a consequence related to component changes.

The relevant starting order

Hamilton retained pole, followed by Russell and Charles Leclerc. Antonelli is fourth and Verstappen fifth. Lando Norris, Isack Hadjar, Arvid Lindblad and Pierre Gasly follow, with Nico Hülkenberg completing the top 10.

Franco Colapinto starts 11th, Oscar Piastri 12th and Bortoleto 13th. Bearman is 14th; Sainz 15th; Alexander Albon 16th; Fernando Alonso 17th; Ryō Hirakawa 18th; Lance Stroll 19th; Sergio Pérez 20th; Bottas 21st; and Lawson 22nd.

Because later rulings can affect details still subject to sporting confirmation, the official Formula 1 grid should be checked again. The essential distinction remains: Bortoleto did not improve his time or become 13th in the qualifying result; he gained the place in the starting formation after Lawson’s technical exclusion.