Vettel pips Hamilton to United States pole

Saturday 17th November 2012, 19:27 by TF1T Staff 

© Red Bull Racing, Getty Images

Sebastian Vettel will start from pole position for the United States Grand Prix on Sunday to give his title hopes a massive boost.

The Red Bull driver dominated practice, but it came down to just one tenth of a second between himself and Lewis Hamilton as the pair battled for the fastest time.

It was Vettel who came out on top though to secure his 36th pole, whilst title rival Fernando Alonso could only manage ninth, a surprising two places further back than team-mate Felipe Massa.

Hamilton split the Bull's with Lotus's Romain Grosjean fourth fastest.

The sessions were dominated by long runs as the drivers struggled to heat up their tyres on the green circuit which is yet to rubber in.

Lotus showed consistent pace with Kimi Räikkönen popping up in fifth ahead of Michael Schumacher. The German's team-mate Nico Rosberg could only manage 17th.

Jenson Button was left disappointed after failing to progress through to Q3 with an apparent throttle issue leaving him crawling back to the pits. He starts 12th.

Meanwhile all 24 cars managed to qualify within the 107 per cent regulation despite concerns from HRT.

Qualifying Results for the 2012 United States GP:

#Driver Team Q1Q2Q3
01 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:36.558 1:35.796 1:35.657
03 M. Webber Red Bull 1:37.215 1:36.298 1:36.174
12 J. Button McLaren 1:37.565 1:37.616
16 K. Kobayashi Sauber 1:38.418 1:38.437
04 R. Grosjean Lotus 1:37.486 1:36.906 1:36.587
15 S. Perez Sauber 1:38.500 1:38.206  
09 F. Alonso Ferrari 1:37.968 1:37.123 1:37.300
05 K. Räikkönen Lotus 1:38.051 1:37.404 1:36.708
02 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:37.058 1:36.795 1:35.766
08 N. Hulkenberg Force India 1:37.756 1:37.066 1:37.141
07 F. Massa Ferrari 1:37.667 1:36.549 1:36.937
13 P. di Resta Force India 1:38.104 1:37.665
06 M. Schumacher Mercedes 1:37.927 1:37.102 1:36.794
10 P. Maldonado Williams 1:37.537 1:37.011 1:37.842
17 N. Rosberg Mercedes 1:38.862 1:38.501
18 D. Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:39.114
 
14 J. Vergne Toro Rosso 1:38.434 1:37.879  
11 B. Senna Williams 1:37.520 1:37.604  
22 H. Kovalainen Caterham 1:41.166    
19 T. Glock Marussia 1:40.056    
23 P. de la Rosa HRT 1:42.011    
20 C. Pic Marussia 1:40.664    
21 V. Petrov Caterham 1:40.809    
24 N. Karthikeyan HRT 1:42.740    
Q1 107% Time: 1:43.317

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