Carlos Sainz was the fastest F1 driver in Texas on Saturday by mere hundredths of a second, as he qualified on pole for the United States Grand Prix.

It was a session that rewarded instinct and quick reactions, as tailwinds, a bumpy surface and highly-strung slicks added to the pitfalls of the challenging Circuit of the Americas.

“It was fun, a lot of fun,” said Sainz. “Very tricky. It’s so gusty that every corner is an adventure with these cars: you don’t know how much grip you’re going to get.”

Qualifying ended in frustration for team-mate Charles Leclerc, who was disappointed with his final run through the last corner and missed out on pole by eight-hundredths of a second.

A ten-place grid penalty for taking new engine parts will mean that he starts in the midfield tomorrow, which puts Max Verstappen on the front row alongside Sainz.

The newly-crowned champion said it had been a tough day after learning of the death of Red Bull co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz, and paid tribute to his resolve in setting up the team and supporting Verstappen’s career.

Verstappen complained of losing grip towards the end of his flying lap, despite a careful two-lap warm-up procedure, and finished a tenth of a second down.

“The car will be quick tomorrow,” radioed Verstappen as he returned to the pits. “That’s what’s important”

Sergio Perez was another two-tenths down in fourth, but a five-place engine grid penalty for him puts both Mercedes drivers on the second row.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell had high hopes for qualifying after responding enthusiastically to an upgrade package, which included a new front wing and tweaked floor.

In the end, Hamilton was six-tenths off the pole time with Russell close behind.

“It was a really, really difficult qualifying session,” said Hamilton. “I was really hopeful we were going to be much, much closer than we were. The car was such a handful all of a sudden and not like any other time we had driven it.”

Hamilton suggested that track conditions in the evening qualifying session could have been a factor, so the race — which starts three hours earlier in the day — could see improved competitiveness, although the seven-time champion thinks Red Bull’s straightline speed advantage will prove decisive.

Lance Stroll will start on the third row, having capped a strong qualifying session to finish seventh, which converts to a fifth-place starting position.

Valtteri Bottas is also in the top ten after an encouraging performance by Alfa Romeo. Zhou Guanyu only missed out on joining him after having a lap time deleted for the narrowest of track limit breaches.

That stewards’ decision eliminated Zhou in Q2 and offered a reprieve for Lando Norris who had, until then, been in the drop zone. The McLaren driver qualified eighth, more than 1.3sec off the pole time. Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo starts 17th. He was unhappy with rear stability and had to correct a slide on his last flying lap, which saw him eliminated in Q1.