Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel added the 2012 US Grand Prix pole to his bulging tally of firsts, Saturday ahead of the first F1 race on American soil since 2007.
He managed to beat McLaren's Lewis Hamilton to the first spot on Austin's grid, as well as his teammate Mark Webber, who was left third by Hamilton's push.
Fourth and fifth fastest times were set by Lotus drivers Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen. But a five-place grid drop for a gearbox change to the Frenchman elevated Raikkonen to fourth and Michael Schumacher (Mercedes), sixth fastest, to fifth.
Although, the German too faces a five-place drop for blocking Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) during qualifying.
The Spaniard, who is now down to the last two races of his championship bid against Vettel, could not do any better than eighth. His teammate Felipe Massa faired better. He stands sixth.
Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) and Pastor Maldonado (Williams) were the other two drivers to crack the top 10. Hulkenberg starts seventh and Maldonado tenth.
Further down the order, Jean-Éric Vergne (14th), bested his Toro Rosso teammate Daniel Ricciardo (18th) for a rare occasion, much like the two Marussia drivers qualified ahead of both Caterham men.
Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) ended a surprising 17th, while Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan successfully qualified their HRTs within the 107 per cent margin.
Qualifying results* – US Grand Prix (Austin, Texas)
1.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 1'35"657 - Q3
2.Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 1'35"766 - Q3
3.Mark Webber (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 1'36"174 - Q3
4.Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1'36"587 - Q3
5.Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W03) - 1'36"794 - Q3
6.Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2012) - 1'36"937 - Q3
7.Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1'37"141 - Q3
8.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F2012) - 1'37"300 - Q3
9.Romain Grosjean (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1'36"587 - Q3 **
10.Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW34-Renault) - 1'37"842 - Q3
11.Bruno Senna (Williams FW34-Renault) - 1'37"604 - Q2
12.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 1'37"616 - Q2
13.Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1'37"665 - Q2
14.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1'37"879 - Q2
15.Sergio Perez (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 1'38"206 - Q2
16.Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 1'38"437 - Q2
17.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W03) - 1'38"501 - Q2
18.Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1'39"114 - Q1
19.Timo Glock (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1'40"056 - Q1
20.Charles Pic (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1'40"664 - Q1
21.Vitaly Petrov (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1'40"809 - Q1
22.Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1'41"166 - Q1
23.Pedro De La Rosa (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1'42"011 - Q1
24.Narain Karthikeyan (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1'42"740 - Q1
* Unofficial timing
** Five-place grid penalty
He managed to beat McLaren's Lewis Hamilton to the first spot on Austin's grid, as well as his teammate Mark Webber, who was left third by Hamilton's push.
Fourth and fifth fastest times were set by Lotus drivers Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen. But a five-place grid drop for a gearbox change to the Frenchman elevated Raikkonen to fourth and Michael Schumacher (Mercedes), sixth fastest, to fifth.
Although, the German too faces a five-place drop for blocking Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) during qualifying.
The Spaniard, who is now down to the last two races of his championship bid against Vettel, could not do any better than eighth. His teammate Felipe Massa faired better. He stands sixth.
Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) and Pastor Maldonado (Williams) were the other two drivers to crack the top 10. Hulkenberg starts seventh and Maldonado tenth.
Further down the order, Jean-Éric Vergne (14th), bested his Toro Rosso teammate Daniel Ricciardo (18th) for a rare occasion, much like the two Marussia drivers qualified ahead of both Caterham men.
Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) ended a surprising 17th, while Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan successfully qualified their HRTs within the 107 per cent margin.
Qualifying results* – US Grand Prix (Austin, Texas)
1.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 1'35"657 - Q3
2.Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 1'35"766 - Q3
3.Mark Webber (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 1'36"174 - Q3
4.Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1'36"587 - Q3
5.Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W03) - 1'36"794 - Q3
6.Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2012) - 1'36"937 - Q3
7.Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1'37"141 - Q3
8.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F2012) - 1'37"300 - Q3
9.Romain Grosjean (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1'36"587 - Q3 **
10.Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW34-Renault) - 1'37"842 - Q3
11.Bruno Senna (Williams FW34-Renault) - 1'37"604 - Q2
12.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 1'37"616 - Q2
13.Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1'37"665 - Q2
14.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1'37"879 - Q2
15.Sergio Perez (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 1'38"206 - Q2
16.Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 1'38"437 - Q2
17.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W03) - 1'38"501 - Q2
18.Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1'39"114 - Q1
19.Timo Glock (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1'40"056 - Q1
20.Charles Pic (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1'40"664 - Q1
21.Vitaly Petrov (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1'40"809 - Q1
22.Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1'41"166 - Q1
23.Pedro De La Rosa (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1'42"011 - Q1
24.Narain Karthikeyan (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1'42"740 - Q1
* Unofficial timing
** Five-place grid penalty