USA Formula 1 Grand Prix 2015: Results, Times for Practice and Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton could clinch a third Formula One world championship on Sunday at the United States Grand Prix in Texas.

The Englishman is currently leading the championship by 66 points with four races remaining in the 2015 season.

The Mercedes driver simply needs to outscore Sebastian Vettel by nine points and team-mate Nico Rosberg by two points to take the title at the Circuit of the Americas.

Hamilton prevailed in the U.S. last year and looks good for another top spot in 2015 having won the last two races in Russia and Japan.

However, qualifying will be vital in deciding the outcome of Sunday's race.

Rosberg topped the timesheets in a rain-affected first practice before second practice on Friday was cancelled because of adverse weather conditions, per Sky Sports F1.

There is currently some uncertainty as to how proceedings will advance over the weekend, as the weather is likely to remain volatile because of Hurricane Patricia, per BBC Sport's Andrew Benson.

Read on for the latest updates on practice and qualifying from Texas. 

Qualifying: Nico Rosberg on Pole as Qualifying Is Cut Short

MARK RALSTON/Getty Images

Nico Rosberg will be on pole for the United States Grand Prix ahead of Lewis Hamilton after Q3 was cancelled, after the drivers once again faced incredibly wet conditions in Texas.

Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top three, with the drivers' times from Q2 determining the grid.

Qualification took place on Sunday due to continued severe weather, and 14 of the 20 drivers went out in the first minute of Q1 as they sought to record a time before conditions worsened even further.

The other six soon followed, but the red flags were out after just five minutes when Carlos Sainz spun off at Turn 4, though Hamilton was able to record a sub-two minute time before the Spaniard's crash.

After the cars got back on the track in Q1, Rosberg, Hamilton and the impressive Ricciardo had a magnificent three-way battle for top spot as they each claimed first place only to be bettered just moments later.

Hamilton looked to have come out on top with a time of one minute 56.871 seconds, but in the dying seconds, he saw his time beaten by both Ricciardo and his Mercedes team-mate.

Rosberg topped Q2 and indeed qualification with a 1:56.671, while Hamilton was close behind—the Englishman was one of several drivers to spin their cars.

The BBC's Ian Fergusson believes the race itself will still go ahead as planned, though, with the weather hopefully due to improve.

Here are the full standings courtesy of Formula1.com, which notes "[Sebastian] Vettel and [Kimi] Raikkonen penalised 10 grid places, and [Will] Stevens 20 places, for unscheduled power unit component changes."

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	Q1	Q2	Q3	LAPS
1	6	NICO ROSBERG	MERCEDES	1:56.671	1:56.824		5
2	44	LEWIS HAMILTON	MERCEDES	1:56.871	1:56.929		5
3	3	DANIEL RICCIARDO	RED BULL RACING	1:56.495	1:57.969		6
4	26	DANIIL KVYAT	RED BULL RACING	1:57.640	1:58.434		6
5	5	SEBASTIAN VETTEL	FERRARI	2:00.950	1:58.596		7
6	11	SERGIO PEREZ	FORCE INDIA	1:59.284	1:59.210		6
7	27	NICO HULKENBERG	FORCE INDIA	1:58.325	1:59.333		6
8	7	KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN	FERRARI	1:58.198	1:59.703		5
9	19	FELIPE MASSA	WILLIAMS	2:00.902	1:59.999		7
10	33	MAX VERSTAPPEN	TORO ROSSO	1:58.689	2:00.199		7
11	14	FERNANDO ALONSO	MCLAREN	1:59.704	2:00.265		16
12	77	VALTTERI BOTTAS	WILLIAMS	1:59.569	2:00.334		16
13	8	ROMAIN GROSJEAN	LOTUS	2:00.236	2:00.595		17
14	22	JENSON BUTTON	MCLAREN	2:00.261	2:01.193		16
15	13	PASTOR MALDONADO	LOTUS	2:00.844	2:01.604		17
16	9	MARCUS ERICSSON	SAUBER	2:02.212			9
17	12	FELIPE NASR	SAUBER	2:03.194			9
18	53	ALEXANDER ROSSI	MARUSSIA	2:04.176			9
19	28	WILL STEVENS	MARUSSIA	2:04.526			9
NC	55	CARLOS SAINZ	TORO ROSSO	2:07.304			3

FP3: Lewis Hamilton Tops the Standings in Difficult Practice Session

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton topped the standings in FP3 at the United States Grand Prix on Saturday, while Nico Rosberg's practice session was interrupted as he slid wide on the rain-soaked track and into the gravel, damaging his front wing.

The Englishman was the only driver to record a sub-two-minute time, as he finished with a lap of 1 minute, 59.517 seconds—0.863 seconds faster than nearest rival Sebastian Vettel.

Rosberg's struggles saw him finish back in ninth, almost two seconds slower than his team-mate.

With FP2 cancelled due to a storm and the severe weather in Texas casting doubt on qualifying, the drivers' FP3 positions could be used to decide Sunday's starting grid, per Ferrari's official Twitter feed.

Rosberg was just one of several drivers who slid well wide around the corners in tricky conditions, with Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Nasr, Vettel and Max Verstappen also spinning and sliding out of control at times. But unlike the Mercedes man, they were able to avoid any damage to their cars.

Nico Hulkenberg completed the top three, and Valtteri Bottas came fourth, with Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat close behind.

Here are the full standings, courtesy of Formula1.com:

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME	GAP	LAPS
1	44	LEWIS HAMILTON	MERCEDES	1:59.517		9
2	5	SEBASTIAN VETTEL	FERRARI	2:00.380	+0.863s	9
3	27	NICO HULKENBERG	FORCE INDIA	2:00.496	+0.979s	12
4	77	VALTTERI BOTTAS	WILLIAMS	2:00.523	+1.006s	14
5	55	CARLOS SAINZ	TORO ROSSO	2:00.687	+1.170s	11
6	26	DANIIL KVYAT	RED BULL RACING	2:00.694	+1.177s	12
7	7	KIMI RAIKKONEN	FERRARI	2:00.785	+1.268s	9
8	3	DANIEL RICCIARDO	RED BULL RACING	2:01.008	+1.491s	12
9	6	NICO ROSBERG	MERCEDES	2:01.474	+1.957s	7
10	19	FELIPE MASSA	WILLIAMS	2:02.199	+2.682s	13
11	11	SERGIO PEREZ	FORCE INDIA	2:02.660	+3.143s	12
12	8	ROMAIN GROSJEAN	LOTUS	2:02.825	+3.308s	10
13	13	PASTOR MALDONADO	LOTUS	2:02.921	+3.404s	11
14	14	FERNANDO ALONSO	MCLAREN	2:03.375	+3.858s	9
15	9	MARCUS ERICSSON	SAUBER	2:04.399	+4.882s	13
16	22	JENSON BUTTON	MCLAREN	2:05.283	+5.766s	7
17	28	WILL STEVENS	MARUSSIA	2:05.378	+5.861s	10
18	53	ALEXANDER ROSSI	MARUSSIA	2:05.607	+6.090s	10
19	12	FELIPE NASR	SAUBER	2:06.792	+7.275s	10
20	33	MAX VERSTAPPEN	TORO ROSSO	2:09.994	+10.477s	7

FP1: Nico Rosberg Goes Fastest in the Rain

Lars Baron/Getty Images

Nico Rosberg went fastest in Friday's first practice session at the United States Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver going more than a second quicker than second-placed Daniil Kvyat.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton finished fifth in a rain-affected session in Texas, while Kyvat's Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was third fastest.

Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz claimed a decent fourth spot, as the rain and damp track caused a few problems for the drivers.

Per BBC Sport's Andrew Benson, the intermittent showers in first practice was merely a sign of more significant things to come this weekend.

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, Hamilton's closest rival in the race for the championship, was sixth fastest.

The four-time world champion can likely not afford anything other than pole position in qualifying on Saturday, as he has been handed a 10-place grid penalty after using more engines than is permitted this season, per Benson.

The McLaren cars of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button finished ninth and 12th fastest, respectively—a decent showing for the struggling British team.

The only driver not to post a lap time was Lotus' Pastor Maldonado, who experienced gearbox problems early on and never got back out on the track.

Here are the full standings at the end of FP1, per Formula1.com:

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME	GAP	LAPS
1	6	NICO ROSBERG	MERCEDES	1:53.989		7
2	26	DANIIL KVYAT	RED BULL RACING	1:55.224	+1.235s	6
3	3	DANIEL RICCIARDO	RED BULL RACING	1:55.592	+1.603s	10
4	55	CARLOS SAINZ	TORO ROSSO	1:55.667	+1.678s	8
5	44	LEWIS HAMILTON	MERCEDES	1:55.693	+1.704s	4
6	5	SEBASTIAN VETTEL	FERRARI	1:55.710	+1.721s	10
7	33	MAX VERSTAPPEN	TORO ROSSO	1:55.969	+1.980s	7
8	7	KIMI RAIKKONEN	FERRARI	1:56.326	+2.337s	10
9	14	FERNANDO ALONSO	MCLAREN	1:56.839	+2.850s	18
10	77	VALTTERI BOTTAS	WILLIAMS	1:56.866	+2.877s	15
11	19	FELIPE MASSA	WILLIAMS	1:57.081	+3.092s	13
12	11	SERGIO PEREZ	FORCE INDIA	1:57.139	+3.150s	4
13	22	JENSON BUTTON	MCLAREN	1:57.495	+3.506s	20
14	27	NICO HULKENBERG	FORCE INDIA	1:57.518	+3.529s	4
15	8	ROMAIN GROSJEAN	LOTUS	1:58.319	+4.330s	10
16	36	RAFFAELE MARCIELLO	SAUBER	1:59.431	+5.442s	19
17	9	MARCUS ERICSSON	SAUBER	1:59.743	+5.754s	18
18	53	ALEXANDER ROSSI	MARUSSIA	2:01.154	+7.165s	11
19	28	WILL STEVENS	MARUSSIA	2:01.907	+7.918s	13
20	13	PASTOR MALDONADO	LOTUS			1