Sebastian Vettel will start the United States Grand Prix from pole position after a tense battle between himself and team-mate Mark Webber.
The latter looked set to take two in a row after beating Vettel to pole in Abu Dhabi last time out, but he was narrowly beaten despite holding a four-tenths advantage over Vettel. The German however managed to find enough time in the final sector alone to beat Webber by just a tenth.
The battle for the second row was also closely fought between Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg, but the Red Bulls were untouchable in front.
In fifth was Lewis Hamilton, with Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez and Lotus stand-in Heikki Kovalainen in eighth.
Valtteri Bottas was the biggest surprise though. The Williams driver topped Q1, was fourth quickest in Q2 and managed to go ninth fastest in Q3, easily outpacing team-mate Pastor Maldonado in 18th who, after qualifying, suggested his team weren’t giving him equal machinery.
Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa failed to escape Q2.
Max Chilton once again brought up the rear, though a grid penalty for Charles Pic puts him last.
Qualifying – 2013 United States Grand Prix
| # | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02 | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:38.161 | 1:37.312 | 1:36.441 |
| 01 | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:38.516 | 1:37.065 | 1:36.338 |
| 14 | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:38.743 | 1:38.364 | |
| 05 | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:37.959 | 1:37.854 | 1:37.345 |
| 08 | H. Kovalainen | Lotus | 1:38.375 | 1:38.078 | 1:37.715 |
| 04 | N. Hulkenberg | Sauber | 1:38.339 | 1:37.828 | 1:37.296 |
| 03 | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:38.676 | 1:37.523 | 1:37.155 |
| 15 | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:39.094 | 1:38.592 | |
| 07 | S. Perez | McLaren | 1:38.367 | 1:38.040 | 1:37.452 |
| 11 | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:38.882 | 1:38.131 | |
| 06 | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:38.929 | 1:37.368 | 1:38.376 |
| 12 | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:38.894 | 1:39.139 | |
| 13 | J. Button | McLaren | 1:38.588 | 1:38.217 | |
| 16 | J-E. Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:38.880 | 1:38.696 | |
| 18 | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:39.351 | ||
| 09 | V. Bottas | Williams | 1:37.821 | 1:37.439 | 1:37.836 |
| 10 | E. Gutierrez | Sauber | 1:38.082 | 1:38.031 | 1:38.034 |
| 17 | A. Sutil | Force India | 1:39.250 | ||
| 19 | G. van der Garde | Caterham | 1:40.491 | ||
| 20 | J. Bianchi | Marussia | 1:40.528 | ||
| 21 | C. Pic | Caterham | 1:40.596 | ||
| 22 | M. Chilton | Marussia | 1:41.401 |
Discussion about this post