United States – Qualifying: Hamilton leads Rosberg this time!

Unlike the torrential rains of last year, the Qualifying for this United States Grand Prix opened under bright sunshine, a faithful presence since the beginning of the battle.

The setting was ideal, with the circuit as majestic as ever, stretching 5.513 kilometers and consisting of 20 turns. The question at the start of the session was: after their double in FP3, would the Red Bulls join the battle between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton? In the land of showbiz, sports and film stars had responded to the German team’s invitation to watch the session from within the garage:

The stars are out in force @circuitamericas@Venuseswilliams, Rosa Salazar and Christoph Waltz watch #Quali#USGP 🇺🇸 #F1 pic.twitter.com/KW9uvWJhpd

— Formula 1 (@F1) 22 octobre /f1/actualite/21453-etats-unis-essais-libres-3-verstappen-prend-la-place-laissee-vacante-par-les-mercedes.html

Both Tricolores out!

Before that, it was necessary to go through the first elimination round.

Stuck in the gravel trap at the nineteenth corner earlier this Saturday, Pascal Wehrlein was the first to head out to the track in Q1.

The first real benchmark time was, unsurprisingly, set by Hamilton’s Mercedes equipped with ultra-soft tires. Hamilton and Rosberg both began the Qualifying aggressively, after having remained in anticipation a few minutes earlier during the last free practice session.

With a time of 1:36.296, the Briton was ahead of his teammate by a tenth and the first Red Bull, driven by Max Verstappen, by three tenths.

Only seventh, Sebastian Vettel looked unhappy with his first lap time and stayed on track aiming to improve. At the opposite end, Esteban Ocon surprisingly set a last lap time, the 18th, ahead of his teammate. All drivers had fitted the most performant tires, except for Jenson Button.

5 MINS to GO (Drivers in the drop zone): GUT, OCO, WEH, ERI, BUT, NAS #USGP 🇺🇸 #Quali pic.twitter.com/NICXZqGlHH

— Formula 1 (@F1) 22 octobre /f1/actualite/21453-etats-unis-essais-libres-3-verstappen-prend-la-place-laissee-vacante-par-les-mercedes.html

From then on, the 2009 world champion was in the spotlight during the final attempt of Q1. Likely hindered by traffic, the McLaren driver was knocked out at the end of this part of the Qualifications! Disappointment for the McLaren-Honda team after a promising Friday. The future retiree was joined by Romain Grosjean, stuck in 17th place. Unfortunately, on the wrong side of the barrier, we also found the two French drivers, with Esteban Ocon in the last position on the grid.

Eliminated in Q1: 17. Grosjean, 18. Magnussen, 19. Button, 20. Wehrlein, 21. Nasr, 22. Ocon

The choice of soft tire for Mercedes drivers and Verstappen, the smart move by Sainz!

The Q2 opened with a game of bluff among the big players: soft tires or super-soft tires on the menu? A question all the more crucial since the compound chosen for this session would be used at the start; for the top ten, of course.

Here, Daniel Ricciardo was the only one of the four fantastic drivers to opt for the super-softs, with the Australian taking the lead with a time of 1:36.255! Meanwhile, the Mercedes team and Max Verstappen were betting on the soft tires.

FASTEST SECTORS: RAI + HAM + RIC = the perfect #Q2 lap 💨💨💨#USGP 🇺🇸 #Quali pic.twitter.com/xstVZz5CIa

— Formula 1 (@F1) 22 octobre

Would that be enough to stay in the top 10? It all depended on the performances of the “others.” After the first relay, only twelve drivers had set a time. It was still necessary to wait for the outcome of this Q2 to judge the bold choice of the Dutch driver.

And it ultimately proved to be rewarding! The three big teams secured their respective tickets for Q3.

Behind, the battle was for the last four spots: the Williams drivers pushed Sergio Pérez and Fernando Alonso out of the good positions at the last minute, unlike Carlos Sainz Jr, who returned to the final part after two “absent” qualifying sessions.

“I think that was a good lap” says @carlosainz over the radio. “I think so” replies @RaceMatas. “It feels good to be back in Q3!” We agree! — Toro Rosso (@ToroRossoSpy) 22 octobre /f1/actualite/21453-etats-unis-essais-libres-3-verstappen-prend-la-place-laissee-vacante-par-les-mercedes.html

Eliminated in Q2: 11. Pérez, 12. Alonso, 13. Kyvat, 14. Gutiérrez, 15. Palmer, 16. Ericsson

A small rope error and a fatal first turn for Rosberg!

10 drivers were therefore still in the running for the 12-minute session. It was time for the Mercedes drivers to flex their muscles with the famous “magic button,” providing a few precious extra horsepower.

Little surprise, the first lap was marked by a small mistake from Nico Rosberg, slightly off the ideal line of the first corner.

Advantage HAM after the first runs in #Q3

ROS just 0.072s behind in P2, after this error 👇 Game on! #USGP 🇺🇸 #Quali pic.twitter.com/FdhJWo6Cba

— Formula 1 (@F1) 22 octobre

From then on, Lewis Hamilton secured the provisional fastest time, obviously on super-soft tires: 1:35.370. That said, the gap was narrow with a difference of 72 thousandths of a second at the end of the first run!

Each in their place, the Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari drivers were fighting amongst themselves for the 1st, 3rd, and 5th positions.

A few minutes after a brief lull, the crucial moment of these Qualifications had arrived, with Lewis Hamilton behind Nico Rosberg on the track. But once again, the world championship leader missed the ideal trajectory by a few centimeters at T1! This played to the advantage of the Englishman, who narrowly dipped below 1’35” to claim the Pole Position for the United States Grand Prix!

BREAKING: Lewis Hamilton takes pole at the #USGP ahead of Nico Rosberg (P2) and Daniel Ricciardo (P3) #Quali ⏱ pic.twitter.com/fJUAAOXKzV

— Formula 1 (@F1) 22 octobre /f1/actualite/21453-etats-unis-essais-libres-3-verstappen-prend-la-place-laissee-vacante-par-les-mercedes.html

With this 58th personal pole position, the ninth this season, number 44 is now the benchmark in the timed lap exercise in /f1/actualite/21453-etats-unis-essais-libres-3-verstappen-prend-la-place-laissee-vacante-par-les-mercedes.html (against 8 for Rosberg). However, the triple world champion will be starting from pole for the first time in the United States!

In any case, everything will be decided tomorrow as soon as the lights go out. The poleman cannot falter if he hopes to turn the tide in the race for the drivers’ championship.

Behind, even if the Red Bull team couldn’t measure up, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen will still need to be watched, as they will start on two different types of tires. Notably, in the top 10 lineup, Nico Hülkenberg secured the seventh place, consistently strong in his flying lap.

Here is the complete ranking of this qualifying session:

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (#QUALI): HAM beats ROS to #USGP pole, the Red Bulls lead the two Ferraris #F1 pic.twitter.com/rlxA67VOsi

— Formula 1 (@F1) 22 octobre /f1/actualite/21453-etats-unis-essais-libres-3-verstappen-prend-la-place-laissee-vacante-par-les-mercedes.html

We now invite you to join us tomorrow around 10:30-11 PM for the summary of the United States Grand Prix. Until then, stay connected to our website to discover the various reactions of the 22 participants on the grid!