The Spaniard pipped teammate Charles Leclerc to claim his third pole position of his F1 career, but a grid penalty for Leclerc – who was one of four drivers to take new engine components – means Ferrari won’t lock-out the front row.
Instead it will be newly crowned two-time world champion Max Verstappen who will share the front row of the grid alongside Sainz, with the Red Bull driver seeking a record-equaling 13th victory in a season.
Lewis Hamilton was disappointed to only be fifth-fastest in Saturday’s qualifying session but the seven-time world champion will lead an all-Mercedes second row in third, ahead of teammate George Russell.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll has been promoted two places to fifth, with McLaren’s Lando Norris sixth.
The Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas and Williams of Alex Albon will share row four, with Sergio Perez – who took on a new internal combustion engine – dropping five places to ninth.
Sebastian Vettel completes the top-10 for Aston Martin, ahead of AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Leclerc, who has served a 10-place penalty for moving onto a fresh V6 and turbocharger.
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu – the final two drivers to be demoted five places for a new engine – will go from 14th and 18th respectively.
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Yuki Tsunoda will start from 19th after a gearbox change in breach of parc ferme, while Esteban Ocon will start from the pit lane after changing PU components without approval from the technical delegate.
Below is the final starting grid for the 2022 United States Grand Prix…
| 2022 F1 United States Grand Prix – FINAL STARTING GRID | |||
| position | drivers | nat. | team |
| 1 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Scuderia Ferrari |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | NEED | Oracle Red Bull Racing |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team |
| 4 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team |
| 5 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team |
| 6 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren F1 team |
| 7 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen |
| 8th | Alex Albon | THA | Williams Racing |
| 9 | Sergio Perez | MEX | Oracle Bull Racing |
| 10 | Sebastian Vettel | ENG | Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | Scuderia AlphaTauri |
| 12 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari |
| 13 | Kevin Magussen | THE | Hass F1 Team |
| 14 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | BWT Alpine F1 Team |
| 15 | Daniel Ricciardo | OUT | McLaren F1 team |
| 16 | Mike Schumacher | ENG | Hass F1 Team |
| 17 | Nicholas Latifi | CAN | Williams Racing |
| 18 | Guanyuzhou | CHN | Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen |
| 19 | Yuki Tsunoda | JPN | Scuderia AlphaTauri |
| pitlane | Esteban Ocon | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team |
