Hamilton feeling good after Austin pole

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton insists he is feeling good ahead of Sunday’s United States Grand Prix after he beat team-mate Nico Rosberg to pole.

The Briton, priced at 1.53 to win the race, produced a stunning final lap to claim first spot following an entertaining qualifying session.

Hamilton finished 0.216 seconds in front of his rival, with Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo beating his team-mate Max Verstappen into third.

Sunday’s race promises to be another classic battle, with Hamilton needing to win to have any chance of closing the gap at the top of the Drivers’ Championship.

With a maximum of 100 points available, Rosberg leads by 33 going into the final few races but Hamilton admits his display on Saturday has given him plenty of confidence.

He told BBC Sport: “I feel amazing. It is my first pole here and many years of trying.

“I want to say a big thank you to the crowd – I could hear everyone cheering as I crossed the line and the energy was incredible.”

After qualifying, Rosberg was quick to admit he was beaten by the better man but he is still confident of winning on Sunday.

Rosberg said: “Lewis was just quicker in sector one today. That’s the way it is. He did a good job.

“As we have seen this year, qualifying is not all-important so I still have a good chance in the race.”

Ferrari duo Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel qualified in fifth and sixth, just ahead of Nico Hulkenberg.

Williams duo Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa finished in eighth and ninth, with Carlos Saint Jnr rounding off the top 10.