AUSTIN -- Sebastian Vettel said he would have been starting from sixth, not second, without delivering under pressure with his final attempt in Q3.
Vettel found himself fourth after the opening Q3 runs, narrowly behind Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen and 0.7s off championship rival Lewis Hamilton. With both Red Bull drivers in the mix in the fight behind Hamilton Vettel -- who would lose the title fight if he finishes sixth and the Mercedes driver wins on Sunday -- knew he had to deliver on his final run.
The four-time world champion managed to find a 0.5s improvement on his final run to jump Raikkonen and Mercedes, meaning he will start alongside Hamilton on Sunday.
"I struggled a bit into Turn 8, the wind was quite tricky all day. Morning was fine and afternoon I started on wrong foot," Vettel said. "My first lap in Q3 was pretty poor so I knew I had to deliver. Without that it could have been P6 or something, so the timing was just right."
Vettel's car had a chassis change ahead of FP3 after the German struggled to find a comfortable rythym during Friday practice. The four-time world champion says it took time to find the maximum of his car.
"I think we are very happy with the result, it is crucial to get the final run. I didn't find rhythm straight away in qualifying, struggled a bit in a few corners, then got it right in the final run.
"In the end we were closer than expected. For tomorrow, if the car behaves like today, it should be good."
"My first lap in Q3 was pretty poor so I knew I had to deliver. Without that it could have been P6 or something, so the timing was just right."