25/10/2015
NEWS STORY
Nico took his third pole position in as many races and second consecutive P1 grid slot at the Circuit of the Americas. The result marks the 50th Formula One pole position for the Silver Arrows. Lewis finished the session in P2, just a tenth shy of his team-mate, to complete a front row lockout for the team. Having been postponed from its usual Saturday slot due to adverse weather conditions, Qualifying took place on Sunday morning in Austin. Continued rain created extremely slippery conditions out on track, with Q3 eventually being called off and the Q2 result setting the grid for today's race. Both drivers used the Pirelli X-Wet tyres only during the session.
Nico Rosberg: I'm very happy with that pole - especially as I did my quickest lap on used tyres. I wanted to be prepared for Q3 with a new set of full wets but, of course, that opportunity never came up as the rain increased suddenly and they had to abandon qualifying. It was very tricky out there with a lot of water on the track, so let's see what happens this afternoon with the weather. The car feels very strong and I'm feeling great around here in any conditions, so I really look forward to the race.
Lewis Hamilton: It was a generally a good qualifying session for me. I was looking to go out again at the end but then the rain came down heavier and of course Q3 was cancelled altogether. Its was wetter at Turn 10 than everywhere else with loads of aquaplaning. We could maybe have gone out and seen if the track would dry up a bit - but it was incredibly tricky out there and you need to be very sensible in such situations. You're on tip-toes in these conditions and really you just have to try to keep going and bring the car round. I'm happy for the team to get the 1-2 and, as always, qualifying is just the beginning. The race will be long, long battle if the conditions stay like this.
Check out our Sunday gallery, here.