Make no mistake, Hamilton won't like being beaten fair and square by Rosberg today, but the German badly needed that to end Hamilton's momentum which had been growing race-by race.

No points are handed out on Saturday though, so attention now turns towards tomorrow's race where the German will need to convert that pole to a win to really make it count.

Hamilton still holds the cards in the title race, but it's far from over. Thanks for following folks, make sure you check back fro live coverage of the race tomorrow. Cheerio.

1) Nico Rosberg, 2) Lewis Hamilton, 3) Valtteri Bottas, 4) Felipe Massa, 5) Daniel Ricciardo 6) Fernando Alonso, 7) Jenson Button, 8) Kevin Magnussen, 9) Kimi Raikkonen, 10) Adrian Sutil.

Well, well, well. After all the practice sessions, Hamilton looked to have the edge over Rosberg but the German has stolen a march in qualifying to beat his Mercedes team-mate to pole position by 0.376.

Rosberg goes even faster by two tenths. Over to you Lewis...

Here we go then, the drivers are coming out for their final qualifying runs. Mercedes are right, this is tense. I can't wait for this Q3 finale!

Still Nico Rosberg has the upper hand over Lewis Hamilton by setting the fastest time so far with a 1:36.282. Hamilton is just 0.161 slower though so all to play for.

Bottas, Massa, Button, Kevin Magnussen, Alonso, Ricciardo, Kimi Raikkonen and Sutil make up your top 10.

The Williams of Bottas goes quickest with 1:36.906 but Rosberg is going even quicker...

Daniel Ricciardo sets the first flying lap of the session and on the softer compound sets a time of 1:38.120. Over to you Lewis and Nico...

...can Hamilton turn the tables on Rosberg in the final session.? As usual it's going to be one of the Mercedes stars on pole, but which one?

It's a frantic end at the bottom of the timing screens as Adrian Sutil crosses the line to reach Q3 at the expense of Perez, Hulkenberg, Kvyat and Maldonado.

Sauber, without a point this year, have been given a huge boost ahead of the race.

A statement of intent from Nico Rosberg who is fastest in Q2 by a massive 0.997 ahead of Hamilton with a 1:36.290.

With Britain's Jenson Button just shy of third-fastest Alonso...

Hamilton flat-spotted his tyres in the first session, and yet another lock-up in the second session has seen the world championship leader complain of vibrations to his team in the pit-lane.

With six minutes left of Q2, Hulkenberg, Adrian Sutil, Pastor Maldonado and Sergio Perez sit in the bottom four.

Advantage Nico! Rosberg goes fastest with a 1:37.099 edging out Hamilton by 0.188. Alonso is the next fastest, nearly a full second behind the Mercedes duo in his Ferrari.

...as Toro Rosso's Kvyat goes quickest on a 1:38.699

Vettel has been eliminated from Q1 for the first time since Brazil 2009, a record run of 94 consecutive races.

To put that into perspective, that was the same weekend Jenson Button clinched the world championship. Ah, the year of the Brawn...

It's a bit early to take the top of the standings too seriously as Hamilton is fastest in Q1 from Felipe Massa, Bottas and Rosberg.

Vergne, Gutierrez, Vettel and Romain Grosjean, who is last for Lotus, are your four going out in the first session.

The soft tyre is the one to be on. Times are tumbling and Hamilton goes quickest with a 1:37.1. Vergne, Gutierrez, Vettel and Romain Grosjean your bottom four.

Rosberg sets a higher bar for Hamilton as Ricciardo moves up to sixth. With three minutes to go, Esteban Gutierrez, Hulkenberg, Kvyat and Vergne are in the bottom four.

Curiously, Hamilton has gone back out on the softer tyre...

Vettel has to set a time to prove to stewards his car is quick enough to race, which is why despite starting from the pit-lane he is giving a go at this.

As it stands with six minutes left, Nico Hulkenberg, Daniel Kvyat, John-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo sit in the bottom four - the latter having not set a time yet.

Rosberg goes nearly two tenths quicker than Hamilton who on his medium tyres has locked up again - this time producing a flat-spot he reports over the radio to his team.

Round one to Lewis. The Brit goes half-a-tenth quicker than Rosberg despite locking up going into a corner, with the German now down to third with that pesky Williams of Valtteri Bottas splitting the Mercedes duo.

Nico Rosberg is out on the harder medium tyre and sets the (very) early pace with a 1:38.8. Over to you Lewis, with Hamilton having not set a lap yet.

And there is time for some more penalties as BOTH Toro Rosso drivers have been forced to change engines.

Daniel Kvyat will take a 10-place grid penalty for using a new power unit, but his team-mate Jean Eric Vergne will not be penalised as he is using an old engine..

It's all smiles for Vettel in the Red Bull garage though as he and team-mate Daniel Ricciardo greet Matrix star Keanu Reeves ahead of qualifying.

It's already been a terrible weekend for Sebastian Vettel, who will start from the pit-lane as a penalty having been forced to use a sixth engine this season - only five are allowed throughout the year by the FIA.

The four-time world champion won in Austin last year, what a difference a year makes...

'Obviously with the agreement we signed, if numbers drop below a certain level we are obliged to run a third car to help save the sport,' Horner told Sky Sports. 'But we would prefer to see 11 two-car teams.'

The plight of Caterham and Marussia hasn't gone down quietly in the F1 paddock.

There are talks in the pit-lane that Sauber, Lotus and Force India may boycott tomorrow's race as a protest over the financial issues that surround the sport.

Talks have taken place today involving the trio but as it stands I'd expect all three teams to line-up and fill an 18-car field tomorrow.

As for the future, Bernie Ecclestone has already admitted he wouldn't be surprised to see only 14 teams on the grid next term...

Jonathan McEvoy: Lewis Hamilton, who joined Simon Fuller’s management stable to fulfil his dream of fame and riches in America, has decided to take control of his own management affairs.

Hamilton turned to Fuller’s XIX Entertainment group after splitting from his father Anthony after the 2009 season, but Sportsmail has learned that his contract with the company recently expired.

Although neither side would comment on the development, an industry insider said: ‘Lewis is concentrating on the world championship for now and will assess how to progress with his management around New Year. Click on the above link for more.

With just three races left, the F1 circus travels to Austin for just the third time since its debut in 2012. Click here for the all the facts and stats ahead of the 17th round of the championship.

With two teams down, Q1 will now lose just four cars, while Q2 will also lose four drivers to leave us with the usual ten-car shoot-out in Q3.

That shouldn't be any concern for the Mercedes duo, who I imagine would be devastated if they failed to even reach the front row. They are once again by far the quickest team this weekend.

And Lewis Hamilton looks rather quick doesn't he heading into qualifying?

In an ideal world, the talk should be centred around the title fight between Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

But with Marussia and Caterham having gone into administration before this race, the big talking points is how financially stable the sport is now we are down to just none teams.

With the European season over, it's time for the three-race fly-away finale - and we start in Texas for the United States Grand Prix.

Can Lewis Hamilton continue his fine form and snatch pole position from Nico Rosberg in qualifying?