Vettel snatches pole position in US GP qualifying - Rosberg and Massa drop out early, as Vettel takes the top spot
Published by Christine
The first part of qualifying in Austin saw drivers struggling with the conditions, lower grip than expected and stronger gusting winds. Adrian Sutil and Pastor Maldonado were caught out in the first session, dropping out along with the Caterham and Marussia drivers.
Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa were the big name fallers in Q2, with Rosberg reported as uncomfortable throughout the two qualifying sessions but Massa left slightly more surprised saying: “I’ve no idea what’s going on.”
Jenson Button was also out in Q2, and sounded particularly down about it. Valtteri Bottas and both Sauber drivers got through to the top ten, as did Heikki Kovalainen in his first qualifying for Lotus this year.
In the final ten minutes to decide pole position, Mark Webber set the benchmark time and improved on his own pace to set provisional pole but was beaten at the last second by Vettel who pulled together an impressive final sector. Romain Grosjean took third with Nico Hülkenberg lining up on the second row.
