Lewis Hamilton will start on pole position for Sunday’s United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas after setting a new track record at the Circuit of the Americas.
Hamilton was 0.239s faster than Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who dug deep on his final run to pip Valtteri Bottas to second place.
United States Grand Prix – Qualifying results
1
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
1:34.822s
1:33.437s
1:33.108s
2
Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari
1:35.420s
1:34.103s
1:33.347s
3
Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes
1:35.309s
1:33.769s
1:33.568s
4
Daniel Ricciardo
Red Bull
1:35.991s
1:34.495s
1:33.577s
5
Kimi Räikkönen
Ferrari
1:35.649s
1:33.840s
1:33.577s
6
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
1:34.899s
1:34.716s
1:33.658s
7
Esteban Ocon
Force India
1:35.849s
1:35.113s
1:34.647s
8
Carlos Sainz
Renault
1:35.517s
1:34.899s
1:34.852s
9
Fernando Alonso
McLaren
1:35.712s
1:35.046s
1:35.007s
10
Sergio Pérez
Force India
1:36.358s
1:34.789s
1:35.148s
11
Felipe Massa
Williams
1:35.603s
1:35.155s
12
Daniil Kvyat
Toro Rosso
1:36.073s
1:35.529s
13
Stoffel Vandoorne
McLaren
1:36.286s
1:35.641s
14
Romain Grosjean
Haas
1:36.835s
1:35.870s
15
Nico Hülkenberg
Renault
1:35.740s
16
Marcus Ericsson
Sauber
1:36.842s
17
Lance Stroll
Williams
1:36.868s
18
Brendon Hartley
Toro Rosso
1:36.889s
19
Pascal Wehrlein
Sauber
1:37.179s
20
Kevin Magnussen
Haas
1:37.394s
Q1: Hamilton pips Verstappen for first honours
Daniil Kvyat was eager to get out on track in the Toro Rosso after two races on the sidelines. His FP3 suspension issues resolved, he set the first time of Q1 with a lap of 1:37.865s on the pink-hued ultrasofts.
Mercedes and Ferrari both opted to make their first runs on supersoft tyres. Valtteri Bottas immediately went top, half a second faster than team mate Lewis Hamilton who had a scruffy start to his session. Even so, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen were only slightly faster than Hamilton on their first runs.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was frustrated by traffic on his first run. He then briefly went top before Hamilton’s better second effort clocked in at 1:34.822s. Bottas and Vettel were next fastest, and all four were duly able to sit out the rest of the session. A late flier Carlos Sainz saw the Renault newcomer clinch fifth ahead of Williams’ Felipe Massa.
An impressive final run from Marcus Ericsson was not quite enough to put the Sauber into the second round. Also eliminated at the end of Q1 were Williams’ Lance Stroll, Toro Rosso rookie Brendon Hartley, Pascal Ericsson in the second Sauber, and Kevin Magnussen in the Haas.
Stroll and Magnussen were singled out for stewards investigations after being accused of impeding. Romain Grosjean had been forced onto the grass to avoid Stroll running wide, while Sergio Perez was baulked by Magnussen at the hairpin.
Q2: Mercedes pair ace the second round
Hamilton and Bottas were both quick to venture out as the track went green. The championship leader laid down the gauntlet with a time of 1:33.560s on his first run of the session on ultrasofts.
Bottas was a couple of tenths behind, with Vettel a further half second off the pace in third ahead of Ricciardo and Raikkonen. Verstappen was sixth and the only driver bidding to make it into Q3 on supersofts.
The two Red Bulls opted not to join the rest of the cars heading out for a second run. Hamilton shaved a tenth off his top time, while Raikkonen improved to third ahead of Vettel.
Massa – complaining of a possible engine issue – was dumped out of the top ten by improved times from Sainz, Perez, Ocon and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso. Joining Massa on the sidelines after the chequered flag were Kvyat, Vandoorne and Grosjean.
Also out was Nico Hulkenberg, who took no part in the second round. Already beset by grid penalties, the Renault driver opted to save tyres for the race instead.
Q3: Hamilton takes pole as Vettel pips Bottas for second
Despite getting off to a slightly awkward start on his first flying lap in Q3, Hamilton clocked in with a thumping provisional pole time of 1:33.108s. It was almost half a second faster than Bottas, with another two tenths back to Raikkonen, Vettel, Verstappen and Ricciardo.
Sainz had opted not to come out in the first wave, but all ten drivers were in action during the final minutes. Neither Hamilton nor Bottas were able to improve, but Vettel managed to divide the two Mercedes with his final effort for second place on the grid.
Hamilton’s time was a new track record for COTA. It’s the Briton’s 72nd pole and his second in a row at Austin.
Ricciardo managed to find extra pace to pip Raikkonen for fourth place. Verstappen was sixth fastest ahead of Ocon, Sainz, Alonso and Perez.
Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Click Here: Golf special