2015 F1 Round 16 United States Grand Prix Qualifying – Rosberg takes pole on Q2 times as rain cancels Q3

Qualifying for the United States Grand Prix was postponed from October 24 to the morning of October 25. Rosberg took pole with his Q2 time of 1:56.824, with Hamilton second, 0.105 seconds behind, and Ricciardo third.

The rain never eased, and race control required the drivers to use full wet tyres. Once Q1 began, the teams set times as early as possible in case the weather deteriorated further.

Sainz crashed at Turn 4, bringing out the red flag in Q1. After the session resumed, Hamilton, Ricciardo and Rosberg successively improved the fastest time.

Ericsson, Nasr, Rossi, Stevens and Sainz were eliminated in Q1. Sainz had set a 2:07.304 before crashing, outside the 107% threshold, but was subsequently permitted to race.

Q2 continued in wet conditions, with Rosberg’s 1:56.824 putting him 0.105 seconds ahead of Hamilton. Ricciardo and Kvyat were third and fourth.

Alonso missed the top ten by just 0.066 seconds. Bottas, Grosjean, Button and Maldonado were also eliminated in Q2.

The rain intensified after Q2, and race control cancelled Q3. The completed Q2 times therefore determined the top ten, giving Rosberg pole, with Vettel fifth and Räikkönen eighth.

Vettel and Räikkönen each had a ten-place grid penalty, giving Alonso an opportunity to start further forward. Bottas suffered a rear-suspension failure in Q2.