USA F1 Grand Prix 2019 Qualifying: Saturday's Results, Times, Final Grid

Valtteri Bottas will start the 2019 USA Formula One Grand Prix from pole position after topping the standings in qualifying on Saturday:

The Mercedes driver posted the fastest time of one minute, 32.029 seconds to take top spot ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton qualified in fifth place behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Gracenote Live showed what Hamilton needs to do to secure his sixth drivers' title in Austin on Sunday:

Here is a look at the full standings from qualifying:

Saturday's Q1 session brought an early surprise with McLaren's Lando Norris topping the standings ahead of championship leader Hamilton:

Meanwhile, Williams duo Robert Kubica and George Williams were knocked out along with the two Alfa Romeos of Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi.

Racing Point's Sergio Perez came in 19th but will start from the pit lane after failing to stop and weigh his car in FP2 on Friday.

Red Bull's Alexander Albon put in a superb lap to top the standings early in Q2:

However, the Ferraris of Leclerc and Vettel went faster before the end of the session, while Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat were caught up in an incident:

The final shootout saw Pierre Gasly and Daniel Ricciardo join the two Red Bulls, both Ferraris and Hamilton and Bottas in the race for top spot.

Bottas took the early initiative with a superb lap that ended up being good enough for his fifth pole of the season and also earned him a new track record:

There was little to choose between the top teams in a tightly contested final session. 

Journalist Luke Smith showed just how close it was at the top:

Yet the session fizzled out with Verstappen the only driver in the top five to improve his time in Q3, while Hamilton ended up aborting his final lap and settled for fifth.

The result means that Bottas ends a run of six consecutive pole positions from Ferrari on what promises to be a memorable weekend for Mercedes and Hamilton in the United States.