Hamilton snatches pole from Austin, Vettel 5th on the grid

The leader of the world championship, who can claim a 5th world crown this weekend, sets a new track record with a time of 1'32''237 and is ahead of his rival for the title, Sebastian Vettel, of 61 small thousandths. The pilot Ferrari will, however, fall to 5th place due to the sanction received Friday evening after free practice.

Hamilton will therefore be accompanied on the front row by the other Ferrari, that of Kimi Raïkkönen, who briefly held provisional pole in the final moments before the leader's final improvement Mercedes. 

Valtteri Bottas is pushed back by almost four tenths on the second Flèche d'Argent, while Daniel Ricciardo must be satisfied with the 5th beat. His teammate Max Verstappen did not accompany him in Q3 after having damaged the rear suspension of his RB14 in Q1 by climbing too violently the yellow curbs added this year beyond the usual red and white borders.

Ironically, these obstacles were installed in reaction to his off-track overtaking of Räikkönen during the 2017 edition of the US Grand Prix. 

Esteban Ocon takes a nice 6th place for Force India. The French precedes the Renault de Nico Hulkenberg. Romain Grosjean signs an 11th entry into Q3 in a row with the 8th time. Charles Leclerc (Sauber) and Sergio Pérez (Force India) complete the Top 10.

Note that the Mercedes and Vettel will start with the Super-Soft tire, while Räikkönen's Ferrari will be fitted with Ultra-Soft tires on the grid. 

Carlos Sainz (Renault) misses Q2 against his teammate by two thousandths. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) also stops after the intermediate phase of qualifying, just like the Toro Rosso de Pierre Gasly et Brendon Hartley who will have to start from the back of the grid anyway due to engine penalties. 

As is often the case this season, the end of Q1 sounds the death knell for the drivers' hopes McLaren et Williams. Last, Stoffel Vandoorne has still not overtaken his teammate Fernando Alonso this season, while Sergey Sirotkin once again gets the best of Lance stroll. They are accompanied in the cart by the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson. 

The 2018 United States Grand Prix will be followed live with commentary with our live text on CARhebdo.fr.

QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION: Job done for Hamilton as he edges ever closer to a fifth world title #USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/lVwY6NUkNd

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 20, 2018