USA Grand Prix qualifying: Lewis Hamilton breaks record to take pole

Sebastian Vettel, so inconsistent in recent weeks, was out quickly and shot to the top of the time sheet, ahead of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.

Pierre Gasly was also out quickly. Too quickly. His time in his Toro Rosso was promptly deleted for exceeding track limits - but he recovered to secure seventh-fastest.

The Mercedes pair took their time getting out there, but when they did, they impressed - Lewis Hamilton took P1, Valtteri Bottas P2.

It was less good for Max Verstappen, who took his turn in suffering the Red Bull gremlins, albeit self-inflicted after hitting one of the sausage kerbs.

Raikkonen and Vettel were quickest at the start again, but this time Bottas and Hamilton lagged behind.

Ferrari's Finn opted for ultra-soft tyres and got impressive pace out of them.

Good stuff from Charles Leclerc in his Sauber, taking P6 behind Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo in fifth, all in the absence of Verstappen.

Everyone was keen to get the shootout under way quickly. Hamilton went fastest, setting a new track record, and although Vettel pushed him close he could only get in 0.088 seconds slower.

As the clock ticked down, Raikkonen thought he'd done enough to get pole - but Hamilton set another new track record, and Vettel took P2. The German has a three-place grid penalty anyway, after not slowing down enough for the red flag during practice, so he will be poised to scythe through at the start.

A 99th pole position for Lewis Hamilton, and a sterling effort from Sebastian Vettel, trying desperately to keep the championship alive. Raikkonen starts on different tyres to the other leaders, meaning that Ferrari might have a plan in mind to get their contender back to the front...

Fernando Alonso failing to get his McLaren into Q2 is a pretty surprising turn of affairs. One would normally expect him to manage that in a go-kart.

If Verstappen's car is fixed, look out for him causing trouble down the field.

Hamilton - Bottas - Raikkonen