US Grand Prix 2017 qualifying results: Lewis Hamilton on pole, Sebastian Vettel second
LEWIS HAMILTON had been fastest in every single practice session of the US Grand Prix 2017 but Sebastian Vettel had not been far behind.
Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel will clash in US Grand Prix 2017 qualifying
Hamilton will take the world title, his fourth, this weekend if he wins the race and Vettel finishes outside the top five.
The Brit had been imperious in 2017 in qualifying too, taking 10 poles before the US Grand Prix, while his German rival has only topped the time-sheets three times on a Saturday.
And Hamilton recorded yet another pole position at the Circuit of Americas, further extending his record as the best qualifier of all-time in F1.
The race on Sunday will start at 8pm UK time with Hamilton on pole, but Vettel just behind in second.
US Grand Prix 2017 Q3 results
US Grand Prix 2017 Q3 results
1st Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 2nd Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), 3rd Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes), 4th Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), 5th Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), 6th Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 7th Esteban Ocon (Force India), 8th Carlos Sainz (Renault), 9th Fernando Alonso (McLaren), 10th Sergio Perez (Force India).
Vettel admits he was short of rhythm but he found some in the final moments of the last qualifying session, pulling out a lap just two tenths slower in tricky, gusty conditions.
Hamilton too blames the conditions for how hard it was to put together a lap - even though throughout the weekend, in which he has been close to perfect, he has barely struggled.
Bottas seems disappointed not to be on the front row, and understandably so, but he could still do a job for his team-mate by diving past Vettel on the run to the first corner.
US Grand Prix Q2 results
US Grand Prix 2017 Q2 results
Eliminated: 11th Felipe Massa (Williams), 12th Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso), 13th Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren), 14th Romain Grosjean (Haas), 15th Nico Hulkenberg (Renault).
With a large engine-related penalty to come tomorrow, it was no surprise that Hulkenberg chose not to put his car out on track again during Q2.
Max Verstappen also had a penalty (15 places) to take and so ran the super-soft as opposed to the ultra-soft tyre so he could start on an alternate strategy tomorrow, but the use of the harder compound did not stop him making it into Q3.
Carlos Sainz briefly looked as though he might fail to deliver on his promising debut Renault practices - but pulled out a fine lap at the last second to get himself up into the top-10 shootout.
US Grand Prix 2017 Q1 results
US Grand Prix 2017 Q1 results
Eliminated: 16th Marcus Ericsson (Sauber), 17th Lance Stroll (Williams), 18th Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso), 19th Pascal Wehrlein (Sauber), 20th Kevin Magnussen (Haas).
Not good for Haas on their home race as Romain Grosjean squeezes through by just seven thousandths of a second and Kevin Magnussen is the slowest man on the track.
The most impressive performance comes from Carlos Sainz, on his Renault debut, who slams the big yellow car into fifth place. If the French team were regretting loaning him for next year at any point, they probably aren't now.