US GP Qualifying: Title-chasing Lewis Hamilton claims pole position

Title-chasing Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for the US GP but will be joined on the front row by world championship rival Sebastian Vettel.

Hamilton secured pole position with a lap of 1:33.108, a new track record for the Circuit of Americas and the Mercedes driver's 11th pole of the season.

"I feel fantastic. I feel fresh and healthy and wish qualifying would go on longer," said a jubilant Hamilton.

"I hope tomorrow I can get a good start and really put the nail in the coffin."

Hamilton broke Michael Schumacher's record for the all-time number of pole positions in F1 history earlier in the campaign and will also break Schumacher's record for front-row starts when he lines up alongside Vettel for Sunday's race - live on Sky Sports F1 from 8pm.

Does Hamilton have Vettel at 'check'?
Vettel opens up on 2017 season to Sky F1
'Ricciardo would be number two at Merc or Ferrari'

Vettel has endured another troubled weekend in Austin but displayed all his driving and fighting qualities as he pipped Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes in the final moments.

Ferrari had changed Vettel's chassis overnight and the German admitted: "We are very happy with the result."

Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo set identical times, with the Red Bull credited with fourth place after crossing the line before the Ferrari, while Max Verstappen was sixth but will start outside of the top ten due to an enforced engine change.

And that was only half of the 20-year-old's frustration.

"This was one of the worst qualifyings of the year for me," bemoaned Verstappen. "I made mistakes, l should have been up there with Seb. I'm not happy with myself."

Fernando Alonso was ninth for McLaren, a reminder of the Spaniard's astonishing tenacity and the team's potential in 2018 when they will be powered by Renault.

Closer to the championship or a week's delay?
Hamilton can secure this year's Drivers' Championship if he wins the race and Vettel finishes sixth or lower.

Based on this weekend's evidence, the coronation is likely to be delayed at least a week with Ferrari boasting the second-fastest package ahead of Red Bull.

But it also appears that Hamilton, fastest in every session so far and seemingly at the peak of his powers, will leave Austin with his title lead extended.

Both of Hamilton's laps in Q3 were sufficiently quick to secure pole position with his final advantage over Vettel in excess of two tenths of a second.

"He's moved onto a different plane since the summer," said Sky F1's Pat Symonds. "These last few races - there's something special happening there and we're privileged to see it."

Former world champion Damon Hill added: "It's just unbelievable to watch."

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Grid penalties wreck Renault battle but Sainz still impresses
The grid for Sunday's race has been heavily revised with Verstappen one of four drivers hit with engine-related demotions.

Just five of the field will start Sunday's race from the position they qualified in.

Revised US GP grid in full

The upshot of Nico Hulkenberg's already-confirmed 20-place demotion was that Renault elected not to run him in Q2, robbing fans of what was building up to be a fascinating fight for intra-team supremacy between Hulkenberg and newcomer Carlos Sainz.

The Spaniard, in his first appearance for Renault since replacing the axed Jolyon Palmer, has instantly settled to his new surrounds and was faster than Hulkenberg in Q1 before the German parked up for the afternoon, condemning Hulkenberg to his first qualifying defeat of the season.

Sainz's performance, however, shouldn't pass under-appreciated with seventh place on his Renault bow representing instant confirmation of his class.

But it wasn't made to look so easy elsewhere.

Debutant Brendon Hartley, Sainz's replacement at Toro Rosso, fell at the first hurdle while Kevin Magnussen was slowest of all in Haas' home race after a poor pair of flying laps and then handed a three-place grid penalty for blocking Perez. With disarming honesty, Magnussen admitted his mistake immediately afterwards, attributing the incident to a miscommunication, but received no sympathy from the stewards, also receiving one penalty point on his superlicence.