Qualy takes place at still rain-drenched Austin, but ended after Q2 with pacesetter Nico Rosberg declared polesitter. Lewis Hamilton to start alongside team-mate as he aims to close out title in 7pm race
Tuesday 27 October 2015 17:26, UK
Nico Rosberg has increased his chances of prolonging the title fight beyond Sunday evening's US GP by beating Lewis Hamilton to pole position again as qualifying took place at the second attempt - before being truncated by worsening rain.
Twenty hours after the session should have started, only for treacherous conditions on Saturday to force a three-hour delay and then eventual postponement until Sunday, the first two parts of the qualifying hour were completed as the FIA deemed the track, which was still saturated, safe enough to drive on.
Rosberg set the pace from Hamilton in Q2 as Mercedes pulled clear of the pack, but the onset of worsening conditions ahead of what should have been the pole shootout led Race Control to draw a premature halt to proceedings.
As the regulations dictate, the results of Q2 therefore stand as the grid and it is Rosberg, the distant championship challenger, who starts on pole for the third consecutive race, with Hamilton alongside on the front row.
"It's been a really good qualifying," said Rosberg, who trails Hamilton by 73 points. "I felt comfortable in the car, but it's really difficult with the aquaplaning. I got a good lap together, but it was a used set of tyres."
Hamilton must outscore Rosberg by two points and Sebastian Vettel by nine in the race - which begins at 7pm GMT live only on Sky Sports F1 - to retain his title but the results of the shortened qualifying hour make the first part of that equation perhaps now the more difficult task.
Ferrari's Vettel, who trails Hamilton by 66 points, set the fifth-fastest time but will start 10 places further back on the grid owing to a penalty for the use of a fifth engine. The German's grid slot could have been worse too had a small spin into the barriers in Q1 proved more costly.
More rain is expected to fall at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, but forecasts suggest conditions may clear into the early afternoon, when the race will take place.
"It's going to be a long race with conditions varying," warned Hamilton. "It's not do or die this weekend."
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo had actually outpaced the Mercedes' in Q1, but ended up 1.1 seconds adrift of their Q2 pace, although that still ended up as a season-best third ahead of team-mate Daniil Kvyat. With rain lessening the importance of engine power to a car's performance, the former champions' grid slots will highlight their belief that their aerodynamic package remains among F1's very best.
With Vettel dropping down the grid, in-form Force India will start on row three after Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg set the sixth and seventh fastest times respectively.
Kimi Raikkonen was eighth fastest in the second Ferrari, but will also serve a 10-place grid penalty for his own engine change, meaning Williams' Felipe Massa, Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen and McLaren's Fernando Alonso all also move up the grid.
Alonso, running Honda's new-spec engine, registered McLaren's best qualifying result of the season with 11th place. Jenson Button continues to run the older unit and went 14th fastest.
Meanwhile, two weeks on from the heavy crash in Sochi which briefly saw him hospitalised, Carlos Sainz was in the wars again as he spun into the barriers in the early stages of Q1. Fortunately, the impact with the Tecpro barriers was far less severe on this occasion, although the damage done to the front of his STR10 means his mechanics face a race against time to ready the car for the race if the 21-year-old is to take up his place on the back row.
Qualifying times:
Q3 cancelled; Results declared after Q2
1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:56.824
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:56.929
3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:57.969
4. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, 1:58.434
5. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:58.596*
6. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:59.210
7. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:59.333
8. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:59.703*
9. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:59.999
10. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 2:00.199
11. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 2:00.265
12. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 2:00.334
13. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 2:00.595
14. Jenson Button, McLaren, 2:01.193
15. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 2:01.604
Q1 times:
16. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 2:02.212
17. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 2:03.194
18. Alexander Rossi, Manor, 2:04.176
19. Will Stevens, Manor, 2:04.526**
20. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 2:07.304
*10-place grid penalty to be imposed
**20-place grid penalty to be imposed
