Antonelli takes US pole on weekend he can win title

Hadjar was just 0.036secs behind the four-time champion while the Ferraris faded when it mattered, as they have so many times this season.

Leclerc, fastest in second and third practice, was 0.232secs off the pace and pipped Hamilton by just 0.044secs.

He said: "Just tyres were so difficult to put in the right window and as soon as the track is getting a tiny bit cooler we suffer from it massively. Q1 and Q2 we were up there but in Q3 we started to lose a little bit the pace we had."

Russell was 0.441secs off his team-mate while the fastest McLaren was 0.768secs from pole despite an upgrade for this weekend as Norris' best lap time was deleted for breaching track limits.

Russell said: "Things were looking good in the first two parts of qualifying but unfortunately just made a couple of mistakes in Q3 and didn't do the lap. I don't think I could have fought for pole but I think top three was definitely on the cards for me, but I went slower in Q3 than Q2 and that says enough."

A downcast Norris, obviously upset with himself, added: "Not great. Just difficult. The car was the best it's felt but I just did a crap job."

The Racing Bulls of Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson took ninth and 10th places but the Briton will be demoted five places because of a penalty for using too many engine parts.

Aston Martin had a stronger weekend than in Singapore last time out with Fernando Alonso qualifying 14th, saying their pace was a "pleasant surprise". He will start 12th after penalties for Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto and Alpine's Franco Colapinto, in addition to Lindblad.