The US Grand Prix - Qualifying Highlights Formula 1

Hello and a blustery welcome to Austen, Texas. This is the Circuit

of The Americas and it proved to be huge hit when it made -- when it

made its debut last year. The drivers enjoyed the circuit and was

a lot of lava from race fans. Much better than NASCAR. Or even Indy

car. It is great to experience. It is like our rock concert and sport

event all rolled into one. This track is fabulous, just amazing.

Lights out and away we go! Sebastian Vettel gets off well. Hamilton on

the inside and a good start from Alonso. He is in fourth. Hamilton

into second place. Button, dicing with Michael

Schumacher. Michael does what he does, and gets a big squeeze quite

late. Altenburg has a chance. -- Hoffenberg. Brave staff.

Lewis Hamilton on the attack and Sebastian Vettel knows it. Hamilton

has taken the lead. He is the first-ever winner of the Circuit of

The Americas. That was wicked! Glorious memories of Lewis Hamilton

winning last year. No Eddie this week, you will be joining us at

Brazil next week when we're alive. What we're looking for it for to

some thrilling action. Axelle Lemaire. It is horrific track. The

drivers aren't easy a stick about being in America. That adds some

enthusiasm. Do you think the track is so good because it was modelled

on other good tracks? I think so, and also elevation change, which

adds a bit of a roller-coaster feel. When you are driving over a blind

brow, it gives a little bit of extra feeling in the cockpit and puts a

smile on your face. This is the ultimate race of the 2013 season,

smile on your face. This is the ultimate race for ever remembered

for one man's dominance, Sebastian Vettel, now looking to conquer

various records. With 11 wins under his belt this year, he needs victory

at the two remaining events to equal Schumacher's feet of 13 in a season.

If we look at the tally, a victory here would take into eight in a row,

beating the current record of seven held by Schumacher and Alberto is

Gary. Fernando Alonso looks safe now. Kimi Raikkonen is not

participating in the next two events. Meanwhile, the scrap for

second continues in the constructors championship with Mercedes and

variety at loggerheads. Voters are not out of the running. Just 11

points celebrating second and third. -- Ferrari. But the difference of

June one and second is worth millions.

-- Ferrari. But the difference of June one and second is The Clarion

have been hogging the headlines with the announcement that they will be

saying goodbye to Sergio Perez. It came as a shock to the Mexican.

Sergio Perez has confirmed he is leaving McLaren at the end of this

season. The Mexican has only been with McLaren for year as Jenson

Button's team-mate but struggled this season with a highest finish of

fifth place in the Indian Grand Prix. It was a big surprise. Why was

not expecting it. Everything was done, and the team told me the die

was good. They believed in the job they could do but all of a sudden,

it changed. And it was a big surprise. What reason did they give

you? I have not had the chance to speak to them in person. I do not

know the reasons. Orlando is that the decision is taken and the need

to move forward. You must feel aggrieved that your career is a

victim of McLaren having a bad car and the worst season they have had

for a long time. I will not make myself a victim, but it was a tough

decision that I had to make last year because had other options. Big

teams were interested in having me. When I had the opportunity with

McLaren, I did not think twice. Will not regret. I think have a lot to

offer to my team. Any team that will have me. I'm already speaking to

teams. I believe I have some options. At some point, I have to

make a decision. I've really hope that I find the right option for my

career. I will not stay in Formula one just to be here. I need to find

a car where I can show that I can do the job. What are your thoughts on

this scenario? Timing is not good for Sergio Perez. But for Magnusson,

it is perfect. It puts Sergio in a difficult position. Not only is he

being rejected by a top team but he is doing it at a difficult time in

the year. Finding a suitable seat for him, to work towards victory,

will be difficult. What does that do for his career? Does it reinforced

the fact that they should not have signed him? It has been a failed

experiment. You make decisions and at that time, you have not made a

bad decision. It is only through hindsight that you can tell.

Clearly, he did not outperform Jenson Button, which is key to what

McLaren is looking for. Jenson is a terrific driver but he did not have

the speed of Lewis Hamilton. So they're bringing in Kevin Magnusson

and he is from the young driver programme. A great driver, and how

do you see that going? He is only 21 so this will be a tough year for

him. It is going to be a learning season, unquestionably. Remember,

Lewis Hamilton started with McLaren and was part of the system for

several years, as is Kevin Magnusson. He has Formula one in his

DNA. His father raced for McLaren. He is not new to the sport. Despite

the fact that he is 21, that is going to help. Had they the right

line-up now, moving forward? It remains to be seen. I see Kevin is a

strong driver for the future. They are in a period of transition for

the move to Honda engines. Why not take the risk? Sergio Perez jams and

it did not work out. Drivers are coming and going and even returning

this week. Here is the round-up. As we heard, replacing Sergio Perez

I'll be back with more in half an hour. McLaren next year is Kevin

Magnusson, who carries a big reputation. Martin Whitmarsh is sure

it is the right decision. Kevin has done a terrific job. He has

convinced us that he is a champion of the future. It is very exciting

to sign him. In the end, you have to make a decision as to who you think

makes the best sense for the future of the business. William seven and

their driver line-up for 2014. Felipe Massa will be joining bot as.

We are both big fans of Williams. -- Bothas. I'm happy to be changing,

happy to have a new part of my career here, and looking for at a

lot. -- looking forward. I have a lot I can give. Astor Maldonado has

not yet said where he will be driving but says he will definitely

be still in the sport. -- Pastor. There are a lot of good options. The

team is interested in having me. For sure, I will be in Formula one. Toro

Rosso's you driver for next season has been using this week to get up

to speed with the team. He made his first appearance in the first free

practice. It is a big step for me. There is a lot more downforce speed.

I'd feel like I'm ready for it. FIA election nominee, David Ward has

announced he will not be running for the presidency after all. It means

the current FIA rebbe present -- President is the only man still in

the running. One of Britain's more successful open wheel racers, Dario

Franchitti, has been forced to retire after a horrific crash. He

won the Indy 504 times. Kimi Raikkonen will not be driving here

or in Brazil. On Thursday, he had a back operation which means that his

last appearance for Lotus was his short lived race at Abu Dhabi. How

can Bergen Schumacher were both approached but turned them down. --

Hoffenberg. David, Heikki Kovalainen in four Kimi Raikkonen. He will do a

solid job. Absolutely. He is a solid driver. He has raced for Renault

before, which is nowhere Lotus art. He has raised for McLaren. It makes

sense. He is good but will he have a chance? He does not bring any money

and he stated that. He is not looking for money and he will not

consider himself as a paid driver. So where they are catering for him.

At the moment, they have a lot of bills to pay, which goes against him

getting a driver. Shall we look at how things are shaping up? This is

what we know. We can see where the seeds are, but there are a lot of

drivers. -- seats. We could see a lot of good talent not making it

next year. More and more, there are a lot of good drivers looking for

those seats and all seats are looking for money. They are pretty

much saying to the managers, how much money does the driver bring and

then we will consider putting him on the list. It is a sad scenario when

you find drivers that are super talented that might not get a seat.

How one has this been going on for? Since Formula one first raced 60

years ago. It has always been the case that you need finance at some

level. Whether it was an owner driver. Ayrton Senna brought money

initially to drive with his team, as did Fernando Alonso. It is not

unusual. But once they are established, you would expect them

to not have to fund their own driver. And that is the difference

we're seeing now. Yes. So some news from the practice sessions. Jenson

Button got a grid penalty, which is unfortunate. It is but he overtook

on a red flag. They acknowledged that there was no benefit, but the

rules are the rules. Unfortunately, three places. You better go up to

the commentary box and prepare for qualifying. And of course, Tom and

Lee will be in the pit lane. Here is Q1.

The session is under way here at the Circuit of the Americas, the green

light is on at the end of the pit lane, Sergio Perez is into these

final two races for McLaren, going into an important qualifying session

to see who will end up on pole position and who ends up not doubt

in this first part of qualifying. Sixth drivers will be knocked out,

and amongst those is likely to be the two Marussias and the two

caterer Massa. Not a lot of sitting around, because the tyre compounds

that are being used are fairly conservative, and we might see quite

a lot of laps during these segments. The harder of the two tyres, the

further you go, the faster they go, partly because of the fuel load

going down. The tyre gets better after two or three laps, because of

the temperature, but then it is just the fuel coming down. You need to

get 1:37.7 to get into the top 16. I am not sure many people will be able

to achieve that on the harder of the two tyres. Initially probably going

out on the harder tyre with the orange writing on the sidewalk. We

will not see the white tyre until the last five minutes. That is true,

if I was doing it to save the running around, I would have put the

medium tyre one, go for one clean lap. That means you can use that set

of tyres in Q2 as well, do a good time on them. On the tyre

temperature thing, they get quicker, especially the prime tyre,

why when they come out of the blankets is it such a challenge to

maintain the temperature when we hear other circuits they are

struggling to keep temperature out of the tyre? It is just the track

temperature, 30 or 31 agrees. At the end of the day, when you come out of

the blankets, when you get to the faster section, so much of that

temperature... Is its new breaks? Not new, but different. That is Nico

Rosberg telling the team off, most of the teams will have changed the

brakes because you cannot change them after this session. You want

your best package on. The track itself suck so much of the

temperature out, they come out of the blankets at 100 degrees, but by

the time they get to the first set of corners, they will be down to 50.

Writes, thank you very much, a quick update from Tom in the pit lane, the

breeze seems to have picked up a little bit since the cars were out

this morning. It is very blustery, it is a headwind into turn one, and

we have been talking about temperatures, just to say that the

track temperature is about eight degrees more than during final

practice this morning, a lot less than yesterday, so the teams are

expecting what we saw this morning to be more representative coming

into this qualifying session. Let's see what Pastor Maldonado has done

here, my goodness, a big sideways moment right in the fast sequence of

corners there, very tricky. Well, that is one of the shocking things

for the balance of that car. My goodness, look at that! Completely

misreading the closing speed of the car behind, trying to pull off line

to allow him to overtake. He inadvertently squeezed him up

against the apex. Going back to the Williams, a total lack of confidence

in the rear stability of the car, and you are committing to those

high-speed corners. I have always maintained a Grand Prix car comes

alive over 100 mph, that is when you feel the downforce on the

confidence, and you expect the car to be slightly under steering

towards speed, much more stable, more attacking balance for a driver

to have. Serious issues for Maldonado. On board with Lewis

Hamilton. The lap times are relatively slow at this point. Yes,

the track looks slow. Looking at the times from this morning, the quick

guys were in the one point 36... They are not going to be running

lots of you will hear. There was a support race between free practice

and this qualifying session getting under way, and the particular

support race was using different tyres, and they could well have

found themselves in a situation where it has picked up on that

Pirelli rubber that has been impregnated into the tarmac, and now

they are having to go through the process again of putting that rubber

back onto the surface. They are dealing with quite gusty conditions

as well, which is never good. The air speed across the front wing is

less affected than the rear wing. As they go around this anticlockwise

circuit, in and around the gusting wind, a bit of elevation here, we

are not far from the local airport, sitting on the hill, and you get

that view of the run-up to turn one, it is quite a climb, actually. You

would make sure you had your trainers on for the walk up there!

No doubt about it, I did a track walk the other day with Gary, as

Sebastian Vettel came running pastors on that occasion with his

trainer, a final bit of exercise before the weekend began. -- running

past us. You do not see them so often, Sebastian Vettel does it

quite frequently. I wonder how his lap time compares on foot relative

to the others! He has not been out of the pits yet, Alonso is fastest,

but the lap times are not looking very quick. Lewis Hamilton does a

1:39.1, he goes fastest with that, then Nico Rosberg comes out of the

final corner and is slower, 1:39.9, so very much lower, even though they

are using the harder of the tyres. The difference seems to be around

eight tenths of a second, so we are not looking at a huge jump in lap

time between the hard and medium. That was Ron Dennis that we saw

there. Shopping! -- shocking. It seems to be similar for everyone,

hopefully the option is better. I think it is the tailwind in sector

one and two. OK, we have to be careful. Really good to hear that

little discussion, this is an interesting swivelling camera on

board the front of the Williams of Valtteri Bottas, watching the right

front... In fact, the left front wheel as they would normally look at

it, not swivelling on this occasion, but we might get some different

views from that camera. We have put Valtteri Bottas quickest at this

point in the session, Nico Hulkenberg was also very fast in the

Sauber, which is why he is feeling the need to get on the radio and

tail is team out it is shocking that the car has been transformed. The

track is a living thing, these cars do respond to wind conditions and

track temperature, and as I say, the amount of rubber on the service, so

you have to just move with the time. As Romain Grosjean goes fastest...

Seven tenths down on what Kovalainen does, reasonably respectable first

run, a little bit of information from race control that because we

saw running into each other nearly worth Gutierrez and Maldonado, and

that will be investigated after the session. New tyres on Webber's Karl,

but still the hajj tyre compound. On board now with Jenson Button as he

heads towards the end of the straight, no locking up under

braking. Very over steering at low speed. We have got to work out why

its feels so different. Probably a turn too much front wing. I think

everybody is on the same page, track conditions have changed. That is

what everyone is reporting back. There is Sebastian Vettel onto the

track on the hard compound, Red Bull feeling confident that they can get

through on this tyre. The cut-off time that we were looking at from

practice this morning is going to be quite different, a slower time than

we were expecting. At the moment the fastest sector time is Valtteri

Bottas, impressive, the Williams, they have changed the back end of

the car, they have got away from the exhaust blowing effect, and it seems

to be working for them. Tom, they have been experimenting with

different setups, but I think they are both running the same now.

Absolutely right, the same strategy, but I wanted to talk about what is

going on at the other end of the pit lane, brilliant strategy by Red Bull

to be putting both cars out now, because it is very busy in the pit

lane, everyone is putting the medium tyre on, and the track is clear

apart from those two guys. It is hard to believe, I know, when the

track is more than five kilometres long, but traffic was a serious

concern during Q1, because you cannot overtake in sector one, and

as a result you really want some clear track, and there goes one of

the Mercedes disappearing out on the medium tyre. We are riding with Mark

Webber through turn six. And now up the hill.

We are just seeing, as he comes down towards a crucial braking area here,

onto the long straight, trying to be early on the power. One of the

longest race in Formula One, they get a bit of a launch downhill

before you see the slight rise and they think as they approach down to

turn 12, just under 200 mph when they hits the brakes. They will shed

speed down to about 50 mph at the apex, the second-tier left-hander.

Very on the throttle, which is a sort of feature of this Red Bull,

and then into this more complex sequence, 13 and 14. A long bit of

overseer into 15, he lost a bit of speed there, and momentum into

16-18, all linked together. It should really be called one corner.

Through 19, left, using all of the track and a bit more before

approaching the last corner. This is likely to be the fastest lap,

1:38.4, and his team-mate is also on a lap right now, not quite as quick

in the first sector, Sebastian Vettel, so we will see what he does.

Mark Webber may try to do two quick laps, but Webber is fastest from

Grosjean. In the drop zone, Ricciardo, Van der Garde, Bianchi,

Pic, Chilton, and at the moment Sebastian Vettel, but that will

change. We go on board with the thermal imaging camera, it should be

plenty enough to put him right near the top, maybe slightly quicker than

Grosjean, around second or third place by the looks of things if the

rest of the lap goes well. He seems to be very gentle with throttle

application, almost like this is just as starter for ten, rather than

his all out attempt. He does go second, Red Bull 1-2, a fractional

difference between them. Now, let's see what Jean-Eric Vergne does, he

goes fifth on the softer tyre, Toro Rosso definitely having difficulty

in making sure of getting into Q2, but that looked like a better lap

from him. We are going one seconds slower than we thought we would be

in that cut-off time. Let's see what Maldonado does on his soft tyre run,

a big lock-up, look how wide he goes. He should get another

opportunity, still three minutes to go. Ricciardo moves up to seventh,

Lewis Hamilton now goes fastest of everybody on his run on the medium

compound, the softer of the two. 1:37.9, but it is still nine tenths

of a second slower than he went this morning on a similar tyre. Gutierrez

goes second fastest, Sauber looking quite promising this weekend.

Hulkenberg was fast in free practice, and that has been

confirmed by Gutierrez winding himself up into a lap on the option

tyre, exploiting the extra performance from that of rubber.

Paul di Resta goes 11, and Hulkenberg is only six compared to

Gutierrez's second, but a fractional difference, Felipe Massa is 13th, a

worry for Ferrari when you think about trying to get both cars into

the top ten in the next part of qualifying, because currently Alonso

was ten and Massa at 30. Jenson Button is near the drop zone

currently, only 16. Maldonado and Sutil are in the drop zone, along

with Van der Garde, Pic, Bianchi and children. Both Caterhams ahead of

the Marussias. Heikki Kovalainen also needs to find some time, only

15th at the moment. Button goes seventh, 1:38.5, quicker than

Rosberg, he should be relatively happy with that. Kovalainen goes

sixth, 1:38.3, and that should be enough to get through to the next

part. A tidy lap from Kovalainen, on board with Adrian Sutil, traffic

ahead. He might have picked up a little bit

of dust as he goes offline to find his way through, that was into turn

11. Down the long back straight, this is one of the DRS zone is for

the race. And in qualifying, of course they will be able to run it,

just bouncing of the limiter. He shared all that speed, pulling a

spike of just over five GIs they decelerate into that corner. And

then they get into the Disneyland section, lots of twisty corners. He

is only just up on what he needs to make sure of getting into the top

16, he is struggling. A bit of traffic ahead, not comfortable for

Adrian Sutil. He might get one more lap in. Max Chilton in the Marussia

ahead of them is on a lap, he does not have to get out of the way.

Sutil, not a clean lap, two bits of traffic, do not expect this to be a

beautiful one, 17 at the moment. He has time to do another lap, but

there is more traffic around, and he has gone way too deep into turn one.

Pastor Maldonado may have failed, although he has another lap on the

softer tyres. 1:39.3, compared to Valtteri... Sutil trying to rejoin,

we said it was very wide. He will definitely not make it through this

part of qualifying. Bottas is fourth, the other Williams is fine,

but Maldonado is nowhere. You do not normally see a big difference

between the two, but there is a massive difference at the moment.

The chequered flag is out, the last opportunity for these guys, can

Ricciardo move up? He moves up to 13th, faster than Alonso for the

moment, but Alonso is still going around. Sutil and Maldonado of the

two in the drop zone, and it could well be that they stay there. We saw

the mistake from Sutil, we will keep an eye on Maldonado. His first

sector is not great, not an improvement, Massa cruising, he is

in dangerous territory if Sutil or Maldonado improved. Sutil is not

doing anything, he has backed right out of it, and Maldonado is the only

want to keep an eye on. It looks like he was wiggling at the steering

wheel, checking if something is damaged. Yes, he is pulling off, so

did he have an issue into turn one? Yes, something went very wrong,

Bottas has gone fastest of anybody on a 1:37.8, Williams driver Val

Valtteri Bottas, an astonishing performance, but keep an eye on

Maldonado, who could yet push Massa out. We are waiting for him to

complete the lap. Maldonado... He hasn't done it. He has failed. He

has not done it. On board with Sutil. It almost looked like he had

some sort of failure. He did not even attempt to make the corner.

Disappointment for the Force India team. Paul Di Resta his 14th.

Clearly the car is not working so well at this point in the session.

Sutil is out of the car. Felipe Massa just making it through to the

second part of qualifying. That was close. It Maldonado has repeated --

had repeated his team-mate's performance, Felipe Massa would

definitely have been out. But for some reason, there is 1.5 seconds

between Valtteri Bottas and Pastor Maldonado. That is an astonishing

difference. Whether there is a story to be told, we will have to find out

later. But out of qualifying already. We have lost one of the

Force India's. One Williams in the shape of Pastor Maldonado. Claire

Williams is having a word with his father, to discuss what has gone on

there. At the Lorenz, Giedo van der Garde, the fastest of the young

qualifiers. -- at the lower end. Ahead of Jules Bianchi. Only a small

difference between Caterham and Marussia. Max Chilton struggling.

Confirmation of those we have lost from Q1.

Bad luck. Talk is through that incident with Gutierrez. It was

quite close. He did not look at his mirror. You looks like you were

pretty uncomfortable in the car. Especially with the rear. Tell us

about your problems. I never find a good balance. Throughout the

weekend, it was hard, especially because the tyres were not working.

They were completely wrong, with temperatures and pressure. I've

found it inconsistent. Do you feel as though the team are not

supporting you? I do not know, to be honest. That is a question for the

team. Buttery Bottas, his team-mate, was fastest in that

session. Let's see how he gets on in Q2. -- Valtteri Bottas.

Likely that the normal frontrunners will be showing what they can do a

bit more in this one. To get into the top ten, it is going to be

tight. Jean-Eric Vergne is the first on track. The Toro Rossos will be

struggling to get into the top ten. They were not at the bottom of the

list. It was the Ferraris, Alonso and Felipe Massa. They are going to

have to be discussing things quite carefully to get those Ferraris into

the next part of qualifying. But news of you got for us, Tom? I have

been catching up with the guys at Williams after Valtteri Bottas's

fantastic lap. Ask them what they were saying. Pastor Maldonado says

the setup is hopeless, and Valtteri Bottas says the car is performing

better than ever. Contrasting fortunes, with the same car. There

is a new floor on Valtteri Bottas's card, but they think they were

running it in both car, as you say, so no difference. -- both cars. When

we talk about the same setup, everything is machine tools, and

Grand Prix cars are beautifully samples of the fine details of

engineering. But there will always be very small margins of difference.

And a man that can talk more about that than I can is Barry Anderson.

The thing about it, everything is done, adjusted to suit the driver's

style. And lots of drivers do not like the rear to be nervous. When

you have windy conditions, the car will be over steering on some

corners and on the steering on others. That is the worst condition

because it is not the wind that makes you lose the lap times, it is

the mistakes you make. So maybe Bottas has been able to live with

more than Maldonado? A huge difference. Yes. And I think there

is some confidence because the class is set for next year and he knows

what he is doing. Maldonado is the opposite because he does not know

where he's going. Riding with the Jean Eric Vergne. Let's see what

time he does in this early part of qualifying. He does minutes max

38.6. A huge difference in lack time. -- lap time. It does make a

drama, a big difference. In the earlier session, Jean Eric Vergne

did 38.8. A little bit quicker. You would expect that. It is so

unpredictable, the lap time that you need to get through this. I've would

stick with a mid-37. It will come to you. If you get one good lap, and

the windows down, you're good. Hamilton is fastest. Bottas second.

Gutierrez is moving up the order. We are seeing quite a lot of changes. A

big change for Kovalainen. Into Q2, you would expect that in the Lotus,

but standing for Kimi Raikkonen, he has to try to be at the top ten.

That is going to be more difficult. The pressure is on. He is joining

the party late. As we mentioned, in the earlier part of the show, he

knows the team from the days of Renault, but the cars have moved on.

It has been helped by the fact that he has had some runs with Caterham.

He is familiar with their procedures. He will be aware of how

to drive the power of a Renault. The engines are sealed. There is no

difference between that of the Caterham or the Red Bull or the

Lotus team. Once again, a disappointed look from David

Vanzetti, the test driver. Paul Di Resta, he may get in the top ten but

Force India, it does not look like they have the speed. It has been a

while since they have been in the top ten. The last time he got into

Q3 was Belgium. That was the damp conditions. We thought he was going

to be on pole position. Adrian Sutil, the last time he was in the

top ten was the British Grand Prix but he is already out. The rest goes

second. -- Di Resta. One: 38.1. He will be recently happy. I think we

need to see them into the mid-37s to be safe. Jenson Button had a problem

in Q2 last year at this point, which prevented him from getting into the

top ten. That was with a fast car. This time, it might be more

difficult to get there in terms of pace. The McLaren has been looking

reasonable. He was sixth fastest this morning. We will join him out

of turn 12, into 13. That is a short acceleration. And Darren into the

awkward entry to 15. Very long, shallow apex. Into an exciting

corner. The build speed, flat out through this sequence. And then

turned 19, keeping it nice and tidy. A bit of a lock-up, but you will see

him release the brake pedal and allow the tyre to run. You think he

might have found a bit more, but he is slower than Kovalainen and

Alonso. Closer to home, for Sergio Perez. Lots of Mexican fancier. And

even more will be pouring in tomorrow. 58,000 people here for the

Friday, which is an impressive number. And hopefully we will see a

full house on Sunday as well. A tremendous amount of support for

Formula one in the United States, even if it is not as well recognised

as some of the other sports here. Let's see how the lap completes.

Button is seventh. Where is Sergio Perez at this point? He goes second.

That was a good lap by him. An excellent lap indeed, putting in

just a fraction slower than Lewis Hamilton. Wonder what Martin

Whitmarsh is thinking as Perez delivers an impressive effort. We

have a little way to go in Q2 to see whether he can continue that and

outqualified Jenson Button. A reminder, Boston has a penalty, so

wherever he qualifies, plus three places for tomorrow's grid. --

Button. Romain Grosjean, coming out of the last corner. Where does this

put him? 37.5, comfortably through. Great effort. The Frenchman has had

a good sequence of results recently. Four consecutive top four finishes,

three on the podium. An excellent effort. He has qualified third on

the grid on three occasions this year. Can he do better than that? It

will be a tall order because the Red Bulls are looking fancier and it

looks as though Red Bull could make it another 1-2 on the grid.

Hulkenberg, fast on the first sector, Mark Webber faster on the

second. Alonso has gone fastest now in that first sector. The track is

evolving as we go through this qualifying session. One corner to go

for Mark Webber. One single lap to get him through to the next part of

qualifying. Mark Webber goes across the line, fastest. 37.3, pushing

Grosjean the two seconds. Hamilton and third. Alonso on a good lap. --

pushing Grosjean into second. We need to keep an eye on the Ferrari

as we watch Hulkenberg here. Very wide on to 19. -- Turner 19. At the

moment, years 15th. -- he is 15th. Remember, you're locked up into the

last turn. There is more pace in the Sauber. He is looking good -- it is

looking good for Sauber this afternoon. Bottas has gone second,

between the Red Bull and the Lotus. Where has this come from? You know

what is impressive? You can see what the Williams team expect. Even

though they are having a difficult season in Formula one, no one is

jumping around, even though that is probably enough to get him through.

They are all very focused on watching the clock and watching

their man perform. And Rosberg, on the 11th. He is in danger. Sebastian

Vettel is about to go quickest. And it is a 1-2 for Red Bull. Alonso

looks safe to get into the top ten. We worried about that. There was a

big difference in performance. McLaren decided to nip in on the

side of the Red Bull. I heard Vettel ran up against the rebel limiter,

which would have cost in some lap time. -- cost him some lap time. And

you can see it from the camera. Watch for the tyre lock. He got to

the apex, but he had a bit of a lock-up. Romain Grosjean said that

quick lap but maybe they feel that it is not enough. He's to have to

back out of this one. It is not going to be a great lap. That was

down into 15. The corner where Bottas locked up. That was down at

turn 12, sorry. Enough time to go for it again. That is the race

engineer for Romain Grosjean. They are working very effectively

together. But that little mistake... There is time for another lap. On

board with Jean Eric Vergne. I think Vergne and Ricciardo, at the moment

they are in the top nine but Vergne is outside of the drugs on. But

we're going to see some changes in the last few seconds of Q2. -- the

drop zone. There is no doubt about the pace of the Red Bulls. Alonso

was back in the pits, happy with what he has done. He is confident

that he has done enough to get into the final part of qualifying. by

contrast, Felipe Massa is in 15th. Last year, Ferrari took a voluntary

year box penalty to drop Massa behind. -- gearbox. And he is in the

first sector with Rosberg up ahead. It gives you an indication, 26.8,

half a second slower than his team-mate. It is going to be very

difficult for Massa to make it through. Keeping an eye on all of

these as they try to improve. Ricciardo is still in ninth, in

danger. We could see some improvements from Rosberg and

Kovalainen. Is Kovalainen going to be able to get into the top ten?

Standing in for Kimi Raikkonen. We are on board with Gutierrez, another

Mexican with home support. Still in his first year of Formula one. Will

he get a second year? We do not know. It is all to be decided. Good

effort, but will that hold him in there? Paul Di Resta, down into 11th

place. Sebastien Button -- Jenson Button is out of the top ten and

that means that will not be approved. He has a three place

penalty as well, don't forget. Perez has outqualified Jenson Button as a

key Kovalainen tries desperately to get into the top ten. He has gone

ninth. Kovalainen is ninth. Will that be enough for him to stay

there? Across the line, we're seeing the Mercedes go through. Rosberg is

not in it. Rosberg has failed. Perez stays ninth. A great effort by

Sergio Perez and Rosberg is out. That is a huge surprise. Hamilton

has made it in and Massa is out. Alonso has gone through in third,

but Felipe Massa, all the way down in 15th. Nowhere near getting in the

top ten. What a mix we're seeing among the times. A few surprises, no

doubt about it, Daniel Ricciardo ended up 11 is, Di Resta was always

struggling, Button outqualified by his team-mates, and he has a penalty

to deal with. Rosberg out of the top ten, Felipe Massa joining in, and

also out is Jean-Eric Vergne. Jenson Button not making it through

to the top ten shoot out, an unlucky 13th, and he's talking to leave. A

pretty tough day out there what were you struggling with most? Not being

quick enough! Yeah, the car feels very difficult. The problem is, this

happened last race as well, I cannot find the balance, the grid or any

thing in qualifying. All weekend the car has been quick, I have been

quick and it is not there in qualifying. And you have a penalty

for tomorrow, will that be even tougher? It will be over at three

o'clock, that is the positive! And understandably disappointed Jenson

Button, and Ricciardo, Di Resta, Massa and Vergne join him on the

sidelines. Here is Q3. Time for the pole position shoot

out, we will see whether anybody can get close to the Red Bulls, fastest

in the second part of qualifying, but do not forget that Val Valtteri

Bottas was fastest in Q1, and he did another great job in Q2. This time

seems to have come out of nowhere. Everything is coming towards him,

and this whole session has been a flash in the pan. The has been quick

all the time. We were talking about how this feels like a damp session.

The drivers are reacting to the track conditions that are delivering

the times. Kovalainen has done a great job. If he ends up tenth on

the grid, that is all they could have asked of him. But when you look

at Hulkenberg, Gutierrez and Bottas, and the want to drop doubt, Button,

Rosberg, Massa, what are the top teams doing? They are being trampled

on by small guys. I love it, it is really good! Bold predictions? I

thought 35.5 would do it, but I do not think so now. If you get the

wind right, if you get the one second when the wind is not gusting,

you have a chance, but it is too critical. We will see what they

deliver, already on track we have six cars, riding with Mark Webber.

We will see what they can do. While we wait for them to build up, there

is a satellite delay from me in terms of the information coming in

my ear, going to Scotland and registering in my brain! I liked

what you said, the shoot out in Texas, I am slow but I got there in

the end! Was that planned? It was not, actually, no! Let's see how

Mark Webber gets on, his second to last chance to get a pole position

in Formula One, and he has been right on the money in terms of

qualifying pace in the last three Grands Prix, two poles in the last

three. He is in a comfortable place, coming to the end of its Grand Prix

career, a great career, some great drives through the years, but this

Pirelli era and the Red Bull era have certainly been dominated by his

team-mate, Sebastian Vettel, no question that Mark has great speed,

and he will continue that in his sports car career, but he can match

Sebastian in qualifying, but he tends to struggle to maintain the

tyre management over the length of a Grand Prix. He will be doing his

best, and we wish him well as he embarks on what could be one of the

last two pole positions he can aim for. He has admitted that the

tickler leave the soft tyre is the one that sometimes hurts him. Tom,

what have you got? I am looking at Fernando Alonso who is sitting

quietly waiting to go out, and I just wanted to comment, the third

fastest time in Q2, what a sensational performance from him,

still injured from that 28G impact that he suffered in Abu Dhabi. He

was telling me that he is still in a lot of pain, he cannot sleep

properly at the moment, he is still not getting enough blood to his

brain, that is how he described it. I do not how that affects a racing

driver, but he is showing a lot of bottle to do what he is doing.

I could say so many inappropriate things right now! Mark Webber is

about to open his lap, a fantastic overhead shot, a great view of the

sector, the Disneyland area, a very complex series of corners, and we

can see Mr Webber out to see his boy perform. Sebastian bringing his

tyres in here. I think Mark Webber has got quite a lot of family here

to sort of celebrates towards the end of his career, just one more

race to go. Let's see what Sebastian Vettel can do, pole position last

year, beaten in the latter stages of the race by Lewis Hamilton, wants to

make up for that this time and continue his remarkable winning

sequence, braking yet more records. Let's see what he does on this last

part of qualifying, still over five minutes to go, let's see what the

first time is. Slightly slower than Mark Webber, 1:36.8, but plenty of

time to improve on that. Grosjean has gone third fastest, Perez

fourth, Kovalainen fifth fastest in the Lotus. As you say, a good effort

by Heikki Kovalainen to make it into the top ten, both of the Lotus is in

the top ten, just the one Williams, the one Ferrari and only one

Mercedes, a surprise, because we have both Hulkenberg and Gutierrez

also over. Both Mexican drivers are in the top ten, which is going to

cause some excitement in the grandstands around here, I can tell

you, because they have tremendous support he in Texas. Claire

Williams, the acting team principal when Sir Frank is not in town, but

he is here watching the great performance from Valtteri Bottas.

Remarkable, the pace he has been able to find in that car, all sorts

of last-minute technical changes, and we joined the reverse camera

view, rather swanky turned towards the apex, showing the driver's view,

just a little bit lower than the driver's view, but nonetheless you

get an indication of what the scenery looks like from within the

cockpit. Pastor Maldonado, meanwhile, has been telling

journalists, you will have to ask the team why I am so slow. That

relationship has dissolved completely between Maldonado and

Williams, but we are going to keep an eye on Valtteri Bottas and see

what he can do. He qualified third in Canada, his standout performance

of the year in damp conditions. In the dry, the best he has done is

13th in Japan, so he will obviously improve on that, this will be his

best qualifying in dry conditions. But how far up the top ten can he

go? Based on the first two parts of qualifying, he has a chance of being

in the top five, which would be remarkable, but he is guaranteed to

be in the top ten, and that does not invalidate the fact that Williams

gave him the chance, they saw the raw speed there. Coming quite late,

they have had a difficult season, but it would be surprising if he is

not confirmed as continuing... Well, he is confirmed, actually! Yeah, he

does know. We are riding on board with Valtteri Bottas, he is on a lap

now, coming down is towards the entry to the long straight, a little

bit of a lock-up, he just about manage to get the apex, quite

difficult to tell with that wide lens. Now he sits and patiently

waits for the next corner, turn 12. He might pick up a distance to from

Hulkenberg in the Sauber, as long as that does not pick up his

performance in this early part of the session, always a nice thing to

say. It looks like Hulkenberg is hustling onto the next sequence of

corners, down into 15. Have seen him lock-up, but he gets wide on the

exit. It was looking sweet for a while, but a bit too early on the

throttle, running onto the artificial grass. He will have

picked up dust on the tyres, and when he turns into 19, the

left-hander, it will affect his grip level and confidence. A bit more

time to come from that Williams, I expect. Across the line goes

Valtteri Bottas, third for the moment, 1:37.8 is a little bit off,

we will have to see. He did 1:37.4 in Q2, so you would think a bit more

to be found. We are running rapidly out of time, so whether he will be

able to improve on that, at 40 seconds to go, Mark Webber is

currently fastest, can he snatch pole position from Sebastian Vettel

in this closing part of the season? It would be quite a story if he

could do it once again. He has just gone fastest in the first sector,

faster than anyone else in the first sector, let's watch the rest of the

lap. Nice and early on the power on this long straight, tidy through

12. Good middle sector time, just crossing the sector point faster

than anyone else. Look at the time, up nearly half a second on what he

has done so far. Vettel has just crossed the line and is about to go

on to a lap, so we will find out soon, the chequered flag is out,

Vettel just beat the chequered flag. Tidy so far for me, wide on

the exit of 19, one corner to go. Can he hold it together? A good lap,

will it be enough? 1:36.4, Mark Webber holds that fastest time, but

his team-mate is on a lap as we speak. He is two tenth slower in the

first sector, so Vettel has to find that in the remaining two sectors if

he is going to get pole. What can Hulkenberg do? Great qualifying

performance in Italy, can you match that? Egos third, when he qualified

in Italy, but there are quick guys. Surely the Lotus driver can find a

little bit more speed, can he attacked? He moves up to third,

1:37.1, closest in behind the two Red Bulls. But last year's winner,

Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes, can you produce a magic lap?

Eaglescliffe, not as magic as he would have liked. -- he goes live.

Kovalainen has done a lap, seventh place, and we await to see what

Sebastian Vettel can do. Unless he has found more than two terms in the

last sector, he is going to be sure. Oh, he has done it, he has just done

it, Sebastian Vettel by a tenth of a second in the final sector! He had

delivered a fantastic final sector, and Sebastian Vettel has taken his

eighth pole position of 2013, back-to-back pole positions in

Austin, the 44th of his career. Well, we thought for a moment that

Mark Webber had done it, but once again Sebastian Vettel snatches it

away. He pulled it back at the end of the lap, he would know from his

cockpit display, you saw him punch the air as he crossed the line and

saw the lap time, so he was living that is lap, he knew what he had to

do to beat Mark Webber, and in the NT managed to do it. The one, Adam

Boyd! -- the one, attaboy! Yes! Yes, boys, good job! Nice work.

Shake and bake. I do not know what that means, maybe I am too old, can

you fill me in? I can't, I think they just like the phrase! Nice job,

Heikki. Excellent work. That is good from Lotus, you could hear the

applause in the background, eighth place on the grid for tomorrow's's

Grand Prix, barring any penalties. It is a Red Bull 1-2, the 23rd time

they have sat on the front row together, those guys, Grosjean for

Lotus is third. But the applause is all Sebastian

Vettel, who was taken pole position here, as he did 12 months ago. But

can he go on to take the victory? This is one of only two circuits on

the current calendar that he has not taken a victory at, Hungary is the

other one, and the has done that a few other times. He has only had one

opportunity at the Circuit of the Americas, but you have to say that

there is every chance of a managing to take the victory tomorrow. It

will be an already full front row to the grid, but there is Heikki

Kovalainen getting out of the Lotus, are you impressed by what he has

done today? Unquestionably. Her standout

performers foot today. -- and they are standout performers today.

Alonso will not be disappointed. It was looking a lot worse going into

the session. Lotus have two cars in the top ten, Mercedes have only one,

and Ferrari. It means that Lotus could challenge for third or maybe

even second in the constructors championship. That is why they

signed Kovalainen. Tomorrow will be crucial.

Sebastien, another race, another pole position. It seemed that one

was left quite late. Do you think that you had it? No. Did not know

what Mark was doing. After the first round, it was not enough. -- I did

not know. All in all, I was happy with my second approach, much

happier than with the first one. But, yes, it was tight. Mark had a

wobble in the last sector. I'd knew that it would be close between us.

That is the fifth time that they have taken the 1-2. The perfect

present for the team principal. No big surprise, though. They have had

the fastest car all year. Think we were treated to a battle. Mark

Webber definitely boost Sebastian Vettel had. Yes. Mark has been

looking good weekend. Mark especially has looked great. Wonder

if he is kicking himself are not making pole position? It was

certainly close. All credit to him. The Championship is over and his two

races away from the end of his journey but is still pushing 100%.

That find out what he thinks. Mark, that was pretty close. --

let's find out. Yes, it was a good battle. Disappointing in the last

sector. Why have to hold it together light-headed on my other lap and

keep the first part of the lap in my last attempt. But, yeah, it is going

to be tough to let that one go, when you want to be operating at the

level that you should be. And that is what you expect of yourself. When

you get it together, you are happy. But today, I did not do my best.

Top work today. You will be going from eighth. It must be nice to be

on track, instead of practising your golf swing. Absolutely. It is great

to be back in Q3. I do not remember the last time, literally years. So

far, it has been a good weekend. Yesterday, better than today. I've

struggled in the cold temperatures but I managed to fight my way to Q3.

In the last lap, I thought that was the maximum that I had today. But

tomorrow, the same, hopefully, or even better. You look to be in

incredible shape, so not racing regularly has not affected fitness.

As he been able to make this seamless transition because you know

the team from before? You look so comfortable. Yes, I've felt

comfortable weekend. I felt that I've been surprised, I expected to

be nervous, but it has been great. A lot of familiar faces, and the race

engineer, I have worked with him at McLaren, and the performance

engineer used to be at Caterham, so I know him as well. Perhaps that has

contributed to the fact that things have been going so well. Obviously,

you are here to get points tomorrow. Can you do that? I think I can. But

you never know what happens. It is better not to make too many

predictions. It could be a disaster. We need to try to stay focused. We

need to maximise the potential that we have and see what we get. We wish

you the best for the race. Thank you very much. Here is Roman, -- Romain

Grosjean, talking to leave. Was there any more you could have

got out of the car today? Think we were more less where we should have

been. Maybe we could have been quicker but never as quick as the

Red Bulls. They were very quick today. It was a good starting

position for the race tomorrow. And Kovalainen is in the top ten, which

is very good for scoring points. Congratulations. You will be going

from the second row. Weather conditions on there? Especially at

the beginning, the wind was picking up. -- how were the conditions out

there. The first section is high-speed. They did not think it

was the same car. It did not look good, but luckily we were able to

make a better with tyre pressure. And at Q3, it was spot-on and it was

a good lap. We saw how good you were as having a per CD is capped by

June, but you will have to do that again tomorrow. -- keeping the

Mercedes behind you. Adding we have good pace. We were thinking that

going into the race and then it was a big surprise last time. We

struggled. Compared to career, we have a different wing, not as high

speed, so we are more vulnerable on the straights. The least we are good

on the corners. -- but at least. I think Lewis Hamilton, if he is

behind me, he will have a good chance. Is there a chance that you

could get a podium finish tomorrow? No. Speaking for the race, I do not

think so. I will try, and that would take it, but my gut feeling is no.

Thank you very much. We would have loved to be further up

but our pace was not that strong, as you can see. And it is the tyres.

The car is quick that you cannot get the car tyres to work. Did the track

feel different in qualifying? Think the wind direction changed. It was

very gusty. The car was affected by that. And that might be the case

tomorrow, from what we understand. It could be long and tough. Is it

likely come tomorrow? I need to get a good start. The Red Bulls will be

gone, as always. With that kind of pace... I mean, I have got

Hulkenberg and Grosjean. If I can get past them, it is impossible to

overtake a Sauber on the straight so I will have to do it somewhere else.

It seems as though Lewis has decided that the Red Bulls are getting the

12. -- 1-2. I think it was as he stated. The weather will be overcast

than the track temperatures will be lower than we have seen. We know how

sensitive the Mercedes is to getting those tyres in the operating window.

But you never know, if the wind is in the right direction tomorrow, and

if anyone can do it, Lewis can. We have heard a lot about the drivers

and how that affects the car. Is it because it is unexpected, the wind

direction? How does that work eMac we have been -- where we are located

here, on a hillside, it is naturally a very flat area. There is a lot of

wind around here. There is not a lack of natural coverage. The

high-speed corner, it is Silverstone style, all above 100 mph. If you

have a ten mile an hour headwind or a tailwind, it makes a huge

difference to the aerodynamic balance. Nico Rosberg, let's hear

from him. He qualified in 14th but will go to 13th because of Jenson.

What was the trouble out there today? The track is very smooth, the

asphalt, so it is at the limit of how the tyres work. For me, they did

not work at all. Have been some surprises. The cars are able to do

quick lap times, so that is why we see Williams so far in front, or

even the server. It is very particular conditions. -- even

Sauber. Fernando, if you could have been offered that before qualify

started, would you have taken it? Yes. We were struggling in Q1,

unfortunately. In Q2, we were 90% convinced that today was impossible.

But, yeah, we managed to switch on the tyres, raise the temperatures.

In the weekend, we have had the same problems. In the early sessions, we

have not been competitive and then we improved in the afternoon. Warm

temperatures now, and the asphalt temperatures helped us to get into

Q3. And they think that was a good position, sixth. Of course, Nico and

Felipe, and me with Hamilton, hopefully we can beat them tomorrow.

Anand Alonso saying he felt lucky to get into Q3, you know there are all

sorts of tangles. They have been. They have not been performing.

Actually, he was genuinely surprised to get that far up the grid. And

Massa being down, qualifying in 15th, but the disparity between the

two was quite large. I think it was about that single lap. He ran wide

at that first corner, and that the Tim out of sequence. You lose

confidence and before you know it, you have lost a few tenths of a

second. They will not get it right all the time and I think Massa has

had a good run relatively. We're joined by Valtteri Bottas.

Great job today, the fastest in Q1. I wonder whether you were hoping for

even higher. Thank you. Actually, at Q3 I was expecting to be higher. But

maybe the others had more speed and reserve. I've really put it down to

teamwork, what we did. Through qualifying, were looking at the

data. And we really managed to get everything out of the tyres. That

was the key. We operated in the right window and many other teams

would have struggled with that. Do you feel that this has given you the

opportunity to show your natural speed because you came into Formula

one highly respected and regarded? You have not always have the card to

go out there and impress. But that has to be one of the best

performances today. I'm very happy. With my own performance as well. I

think I need to thank the team for giving me that kind of car. When we

get the car right, the result is there. Big thanks to the team. It

was a nice job and we did it together. What do you think you can

do tomorrow? Points. That is the goal, points. Think it is a good

starting point. Good luck tomorrow. Here is the professional get grid. A

seventh consecutive Red Bull pole position goes the way of Sebastian

Vettel ahead of Mark Webber. Romain Grosjean starts third for the fourth

time this year. Think it is fair to say that we have

got a little bit of a mixed upgrade. You would expect Felipe Massa to be

further, and also Nico Rosberg. He looks disappointed. There was a lot

of head stretching going on at Mercedes. Out of position, and this

throws open how interesting the battle is for the constructors race.

It certainly does. What a weeks pegging in terms of whether?

Changeable. We have had overcast conditions. They were expecting more

from the track in terms of its performance. -- what are we

expecting in terms of weather. So far, it is disappointing. They will

be hoping for warmer conditions tomorrow. And gusty. In terms of the

tyres, what do you think in terms of stopping? One-stop is the only

choice for the teams. The tyres are durable. The track conditions are

good, so why would be amazed if they changed more than once. Catch us

tomorrow evening for the highlights. At 10:25pm. So, it was the Red Bulls

that blocked their way to lock out the front row today. And you can be

sure that they will be on a charge tomorrow during the United States

Grand Prix. Peggy very much for watching. We will see you tomorrow.

-- thank you very much for watching.