Lewis Hamilton of England and Mercedes AMG Petronas, middle, Nico Rosberg of Germany and Mercedes AMG Petronas, left, and Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Red Bull Racing, finished first, second and third, respectively, in qualifying at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on Saturday October 22, 2016. JAY JANNER / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Three-time world champion driver Lewis Hamilton enjoys visiting Austin and has a great track record in the U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas.
He’s won three of the first four. Four for five, anyone?
Hamilton, the 31-year-old Brit, set a track qualifying record with a lap of 1:34.999, besting his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, who turned in a 1:35.215.
“I feel amazing. My first pole here. It’s been many years of trying and a lot of people who’ve helped me get that,” Hamilton said after the session.
“For us I want to say a big thanks to the crowd. I could hear them cheering. The energy on the slow down lap was much appreciated.”
Rosberg, who leads Hamilton by 33 in season points with four races left, said he was pleased to be starting in the front row but was “annoyed” that Hamilton one-upped him.
“Nothing specific,” Rosberg said when asked where he had fallen short.
“Sector 1, Lewis was just quicker. Pretty simple. Good lap I did nonetheless. Annoyed when Lewis came over the line, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.
“Nevertheless, qualifying isn’t all-important. From P2, we still have a good chance tomorrow.”
Red Bull took the No. 3 and 4 spots on the grid, with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. Their times weren’t far off the one laid down by Rosberg.
The Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel were fifth and sixth.
Rounding out the top 10: Nico Hulkenberg (Force India), Valtteri Bottas (Williams Martini), Felipe Massa (Williams Martini) and Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso).
Mexican driver Sergio Perez (Force India) was 11th.
Haas F1 Team, the first U.S.-owned F1 outfit in 30 years, posted results slightly better than its practice finishes. Esteban Gutierrez made Q2 and took 14th, while Romain Grosjean was 17th.
