AUSTIN, Texas -- Lewis Hamilton took a crucial pole position at the U.S. Grand Prix to line up ahead of title rival Nico Rosberg on Sunday's grid.
Hamilton needs to win in Austin in order to give his championship chances a much-needed boost, while Rosberg can rest on his buffer of 33 points and settle for second this weekend. It is Hamilton's third pole in the last five races and puts him in the best position possible to end his six-race victory drought.
Hamilton held a 0.216s advantage over Rosberg on their flying laps, with the damage done in sector one where Hamilton was 0.295s quicker than Rosberg, who ran wide at Turn 1. The German was faster in sectors two and three but it wasn't enough to overturn his sector one mistake and he had to settle for second on the grid.
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was third fastest, 0.510s off Hamilton best effort, as Mercedes' power advantage shone through in sectors one and two. Max Verstappen took fourth behind his Red Bull teammate, with Kimi Raikkonen the faster of the two Ferraris in fifth and teammate Sebastian Vettel sixth.
The two Mercedes drivers and Verstappen have already kicked off Sunday's strategic battle by qualifying in Q2 on the soft tyres, which will allow them to start the race on that compound. As a result, they will not have to use the super-soft tyres, which are only expected to perform for a handful of laps in race conditions.
Nico Hulkenberg took seventh for Force India ahead of the two Williams, led by Valtteri Bottas. Carlos Sainz took tenth after an impressive lap in the Toro Rosso to make the top ten shootout.
Sergio Perez will start 11th after missing out on a place in Q2 by 0.139s to the two Williams. He beat Fernando Alonso by 0.064s after the McLaren driver lost time in sectors one and two. Daniil Kvyat was 13th, 0.305s off teammate Sainz who made the cut for Q3. Esteban Gutierrez took 14th at Haas' home race, which appeared to be the maximum the car had to offer. Renault's Jolyon Palmer and Sauber's Marucs Ericsson both outshone their teammates to take a place in Q2 and qualify 15th and 16th.
Haas driver Romain Grosjean was knocked out in Q1 as he fell 0.255s shy of his teammate Gutierrez and a place in Q2. He was 0.009s ahead of Kevin Magnussen in 18th and 0.019s ahead of Jenson Button, who came across Palmer ahead of the final corner and took a compromised line on entry. Pascal Wehrlein managed to haul his Manor off the back row of the grid at the expense of Sauber driver Felipe Nasr, who will start alongside Esteban Ocon.