Nico Rosberg wins pole for Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix

AUSTIN, Texas — Throughout the first three practice sessions, Lewis Hamilton led his teammate. But when it counted, Nico Rosberg got him back.

Rosberg edged Mercedes AMG Petronas teammate Lewis Hamilton by 0.376 seconds Saturday to win the pole position for the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas.

Rosberg was clocked at 1:36.067 in the final qualifying session around the 20-turn, 3.427-mile course, while Hamilton recorded a fast lap of 1:36.443. Hamilton leads Rosberg by 17 points heading into Sunday's race, which marks the 10th time in 17 Formula One races this season that the Mercedes teammates have started together on the front row.

"Together with my engineers, I really arrived at a car in the end in qualifying that I was happy with," Rosberg said. "The balance was good. It was quite a challenge because the wind was changing. … It wasn't easy to get everything right."

Hamilton led Rosberg in practice sessions Friday and Saturday, but couldn't catch him in the third and final qualifying session. He blamed uneven brake bias for his problems.

"I really struggled with braking," Hamilton said. "When you look at the brake temperatures, the left brake was always around 100 degrees less than the right front brake. It just kept catching, no matter what."

Sunday's race is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. ET. It will be televised live on NBC beginning with a pre-race show at 2 p.m. ET.

Rosberg has four victories and eight poles this season. Hamilton has seven poles and nine wins. He won the inaugural USGP in 2012.

Most everything else about qualifying stayed true to practice form Saturday — Williams Martini drivers Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa qualified third and fourth, respectively, and Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo qualified fifth.

Because of the withdrawal of Caterham Racing and Marussia F1 Team from the race, the qualifying format was altered slightly. Only four drivers were eliminated during each of the first two sessions, leaving the usual 10 drivers for the final Q3 session.

Just 18 cars are expected to start Sunday's race, the smallest field for an F1 race in more than eight years.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who will start from pit lane after being penalized for using a sixth engine this season, ran just three laps in Q1. Vettel, the defending F1 champion and USGP winner, is headed for Scuderia Ferrari next season.

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United States Grand Prix Lineup

After Saturday qualifying (Lap length: 3.426 miles)

Race: Sunday At Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas

Third Session

1. Nico Rosberg, Germany, Mercedes, 1 minute, 36.067 seconds.

2. Lewis Hamilton, England, Mercedes, 1:36.443.

3. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Williams, 1:36.906.

4. Felipe Massa, Brazil, Williams, 1:37.205.

5. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Red Bull, 1:37.244.

6. Fernando Alonso, Spain, Ferrari, 1:37.610.

7. Kevin Magnussen, Denmark, McLaren, 1:37.706.

8. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Ferrari, 1:37.804.

9. Adrian Sutil, Germany, Sauber, 1:38.810.

Eliminated after second session

10. Pastor Maldonado, Venezuela, Lotus, 1:38.467.

11. Sergio Perez, Mexico, Force India, 1:38.554.

12. Jenson Button, England, McLaren, 1:37.655.

13. Nico Hulkenberg, Germany, Force India, 1:38.598.

Eliminated after first session

14. Jean-Eric Vergne, France, Toro Rosso, 1:39.250.

15. Esteban Gutierrez, Mexico, Sauber, 1:39.555.

16. Romain Grosjean, France, Lotus, 1:39.679.

17. Daniil Kvyat, Russia, Toro Rosso, 1:38.699.

18. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Red Bull, 1:39.621.