Everything went exactly as expected for Lewis Hamilton, as the Briton's dominance in Practice continued in Qualifying with pole position for Sunday's United States Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver kept lowering the bar throughout the session but his first flying lap in Q3 would be enough as a new lap record time of 1:33.108s saw the triple world champion untroubled by his rivals at the Circuit of the Americas.

Under pressure, Sebastian Vettel delivered once again leaving until his final run to jump ahead of Valtteri Bottas onto the front row of the grid but was still a quarter of a second shy of his championship rival.

The Finn will line-up third and will have Daniel Ricciardo for company as the Australian also produced an excellent final lap which would be matched by the second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, but because the Red Bull driver set his time first, he will start from fourth position.

Raikkonen would have had Max Verstappen alongside, but engine penalties will see the Dutchman drop down the order with Esteban Ocon moving up to sixth for Force India, as an excellent lap saw the Frenchman lead the midfield for the first time this weekend.

Two Spaniard's will fill Row 4 as Carlos Sainz also impressed in his first qualifying for Renault to start seventh with Fernando Alonso squeezing every ounce of performance from his McLaren to make Q3, despite a top speed deficit of some 12 miles per hour down the back straight.

Sergio Perez gave Force India another great platform to score a 14th double points finish of the year, with the Mexican the final top 10 driver but will start ninth.

One disappointed man will be Felipe Massa as the Brazilian had been regularly near to if not the lead midfield car in Practice, but in Qualifying would be squeezed out of Q3 in the closing seconds of the second segment by Alonso and Sainz. The only benefit is the Williams will have a free choice of tyres and will start from P10.

On a day of good performances, Daniil Kvyat's return with Toro Rosso was notable as the young Russian will start 11th after being 12th quickest overall. He would also beat his one-off teammate Brendon Hartley but 1.3 seconds proving experience really does count.

The end of Q1 saw an incredibly tight fight between the likes of Haas, Sauber, Hartley and Lance Stroll. In fact, just 0.05s would cover the four drivers from P15 to P18 on the timings.

Romain Grosjean would be the lucky one to go through to Q2 and with the penalties moved up to 12th for Haas ahead of Marcus Ericsson, as the Swede was another who punched a little higher than expected for Sauber.

Stroll was a disappointment, however, as he would be knocked out in the first part of Qualifying despite having tested at COTA earlier in the year. Misfortune for others will help the Canadian as he starts 14th in the Williams.

Pascal Wehrlein will line up 15th with Kevin Magnussen not only bottom of the timings but under investigation for blocking Perez in Q1, which could earn the Dane a further punishment.

Finally, come the four drivers with penalties with Max Verstappen 17th, Stoffel Vandoorne 18th, Nico Hulkenberg 19th and Brendon Hartley completing the grid.

Pleased to have signed a new contract with McLaren for 2018, Fernando Alonso can't wait to get started on the next chapter of his stint with the British team claiming he "wants Australia to arrive already".

News of the double world champion's continuation with McLaren was made official just before he appeared at Thursday's press conference ahead of the United States Grand Prix in Austin and ended months of speculation amid frustration over the continued problems with Honda.

But now, with Renault taking over as their engine supplier from next season, the Spaniard has an all-new outlook on what he can achieve and even hinted his new deal was more than just a one-year extension.

"We never discuss the contract clauses and we are not going to do it now, but it's a long-term contract and we'll see how things go," Alonso claimed. "I'm very excited for next year, with different expectations and keen to put McLaren back where it deserves to be. I want Australia to arrive already."

The thought of a multi-year stay, with most 'long-term' deals usually lasting three seasons, is an intriguing one, particularly given there is still a lot of work to do before McLaren, even with Renault, can think about challenging the top three teams.

Nevertheless, the 36-year-old expressed faith in the Woking outfit's abilities as he spoke about his reasons for remaining with the team.

"We weren't in a hurry, neither of us," he said, explaining the delay in making his decision. "From the first moment I believed that McLaren's project – or at least the chassis side – had taken the right step in terms of aerodynamics and in terms of mechanical grip.

"We left all doors open, I talked to everybody who wanted to talk, with all the different projects I had on the table, but the most convincing one was McLaren's."

For Fernando, there is also a little nostalgia as he will once again work with the company that helped him to his two F1 titles just over a decade ago but insists the underlying potential of the new partnership was more important.

"It's very exciting. Driving again for Renault, even though it's just the engine, is a good feeling,” Alonso admitted.

"[But] Red Bull has been showing this year, with two cars on the podium in Japan and both cars on the podium in Malaysia, so we know what the Renault engine is capable of. Now we have to step up and make it happen."

It is still likely, however, he will participate elsewhere next year, with speculation of a run both at the Daytona 24 Hours before attempting another leg of motorsport's Triple Crown, the Le Mans 24 Hours.

"For the Indy 500 it was a nice experience, I felt very competitive but it was a big challenge that I took from zero, from no testing, not any similar race before it," Alonso commented. "If I want to prepare Le Mans, maybe there are other possibilities to prepare Le Mans a little bit better than I prepared the Indy 500."

McLaren executive director Zak Brown, who operates the United Autosports endurance racing team, was also open to offering his driver the chance.

"If Fernando wants to do Daytona and we have a seat available, we would put his name on it happily," he said. "We’ve started joking around about it and we saw where jokes got us last time (referring to the Indy 500)."

Lewis Hamilton continued his strong start to the weekend in the United States by completing a clean sweep of Friday Practice sessions after topping the timesheets yet again in the afternoon.

The Briton would be the only man to break the 95-second mark with a 1m34.668s on the Ultrasoft tyres, a third of a second clear of Max Verstappen's Red Bull.

Sebastian Vettel would be third but it was a tricky session for the German, who missed out on early running on the Soft compound tyre after sliding wide at Turn 19 and damaging his Pirelli rubber. 

He would complete a qualifying simulation, but would then return to the pits and miss out on the long run in the final half an hour or so with some kind of technical problem on the front axle of his Ferrari. 

Valtteri Bottas would continue to lag some way behind his teammate in fourth, with a six-tenths margin between the two Silver Arrows. Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen have work to do as they also lacked pace in fifth and sixth respectively.  

In the midfield, Fernando Alonso, who failed to set a time in the morning due to a hydraulic leak in his McLaren, would lead the pack in seventh, a tenth-and-a-half clear of Felipe Massa's Williams, as the Brazilian continued his strong pace on Friday.   

Force India continue to lurk, however, with both cars again in the top 10 just 0.009s between Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon in 9th and 10th.  

At Renault, the gap would be even smaller as Carlos Sainz continued to lead his new teammate Nico Hulkenberg, with the German suffering with mechanical issues early on.

The pair would be separated by just 0.005s in 11th and 12th and will certainly look to kick on with the Enstone outfit needing to get back on track after two pointless races.

Daniil Kvyat, in his first outing for Toro Rosso since the Singapore Grand Prix in Practice 2, made a convincing return as he beat Brendon Hartley by 1.2 seconds in 13th with the Kiwi four places behind in 17th as he continues to adapt to his new car.

In front of their home crowd, Haas had a difficult session with Kevin Magnussen the lead driver but only 14th fastest with Romain Grosjean bottom of the timesheets and a long way from where they hope to be.

Despite several good recent results, Stoffel Vandoorne's struggles returned on a new circuit for the Belgian in 15th and a second down on the sister McLaren of Alonso up in seventh.

Lance Stroll saw his afternoon disrupted by an exhaust issue on his Williams as he slipped to 16th with the two Sauber's of Pascal Wehrlein and Marcus Ericsson 18th and 19th.

This weekend they will be teammates, but Daniil Kvyat and Brendon Hartley admit they don't know who will be the one that stays at Toro Rosso beyond the United States Grand Prix at Austin.

The junior Red Bull team has been forced to field an all-new line-up compared to two weeks ago in Japan with Carlos Sainz now at Renault and Pierre Gasly is back at Suzuka to try and sew up the Super Formula title in the season finale.

With the Frenchman set to return next weekend in Mexico, it means either the Russian or the New Zealander will make the hop across the border and down to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, and Kvyat, who lost his seat to accommodate Gasly, is keen to prove his worth.

“I just have my work here, my car,” he told ESPN on Thursday. “I have plenty of new motivations and I want to use them to my best to maximise my performance.

“I feel like there is big potential all the time which hasn’t been used this year very well and I want to correct this – there’s still a chance to correct this. Plenty of motivation for sure.

"In a way, I don’t want to think too much about the future right now or any talks right now, today or tomorrow," he added, “I just want to drive this weekend. There’s been a few changes to the team.

"I will try to maximise this opportunity – we have to see it like that.”

As for Hartley, he revealed he initiated contact back with Red Bull, with whom he was associated until 2010, earlier this year with his current full-time drive with Porsche in the WEC set to disappear as the German manufacturer pulls out of the endurance series.

"I said 'Look, I'm a different driver than I was 10 years ago, I've learned a lot, and if there is ever an opportunity I am ready'," he claimed, recalling his conversation with Helmut Marko, motorsport advisor for the Austrian drinks giant.

"Nothing's been confirmed for me for next year and I'm trying not to think further forward than this weekend because I've got a fair amount on my plate."

What also doesn't help this year's Le Mans 24 Hours winner is he will starting at the back of the grid in Austin as Toro Rosso put a fresh engine in for the final four races.

Max Verstappen will remain under contract with Red Bull until 2020 after a new extension was announced in Austin on Friday.

The Dutchman's future has been subject to speculation after the Milton Keynes outfit fell short of competitive expectations this season and Verstappen in-particular struggling for results due to start crashes and poor reliability.

It is believed both Mercedes and Ferrari were interested in the 20-year-old for 2019 with his previous contract due to expire at the end of that year, however, this single year addition brings Verstappen in line with the desire of Red Bull to secure both their current drivers until the end of the decade.

Commenting on his new contract, Max was pleased to be remaining with the company that has helped propel his career and make him one of Formula 1's biggest names in just a few years.

“Red Bull has always shown their faith and belief in me with actions; inviting me in to the young driver programme as a 16-year-old, giving me my start in F1 when I was just 17 and then the opportunity to race with Red Bull Racing where I had such a dream start with this team,” he explained.

“They have always backed me and my ambition and I know we share that ambition. Their support, from the guys and girls in the factory through to the crew in the garage, no matter what plays out on the race track, has always been 100 percent.

“We’ve also had some fun times! I’m very happy to commit further to Red Bull Racing and I’m looking forward to working together to enjoy more success in the years to come.”

Recently, team boss Christian Horner argued the case for Verstappen to remain with the team, despite the appeal of their fellow top three rivals, claiming together the two could beat a Lewis Hamilton-led Mercedes and a Sebastian Vettel-led Ferrari.

Following the announcement of their continued partnership, the Briton again highlighted that while praising Verstappen for how he has evolved in just a few short years.

“We are delighted that Max has agreed to extend his contract with Red Bull Racing,” he stated. “We had a phenomenal start together in Spain last year and Max has only pushed on from there.

“It was a great moment for the whole team to see him put the frustrations of this season behind him in taking that fantastic victory in Malaysia last month. He is pure racer, with an undeniable talent at the wheel and a rare instinct for what it takes to compete consistently at this level.

“Coupled with a committed work ethic and a mature approach to learning his craft that belies his years, Max is right to be hungry for success and we are looking forward to extending that journey with him in our hunt for F1 championships," Horner added.

“As we now look to the long term with Max he is in the best place in the sport to build a team around him to deliver our shared ambition.”

What is unknown is what this means for the future of teammate Daniel Ricciardo who is out of contract at the end of next season and could well now be the most attractive option for the other top teams. 

Daniel Ricciardo believes Red Bull is now in a position where they can challenge Mercedes and Ferrari in a straight fight for victories, as they continue to improve in the second half of the season.

Following a slow start to the year after the major rule changes, the Milton Keynes outfit is now enjoying their most successful run of the season so far, having secured their first back-to-back double podium finishes of the hybrid era in Malaysia and Japan.

Yet, their recent results have come as the top two teams have had problems, whether it be Mercedes' lack of pace in the heat of Sepang or Ferrari's poor reliability.

Regardless, Ricciardo, who has nine podiums to his name so far in 2017, believes those performances are genuine and prove the gains Red Bull have made.

“I still think if we get it all right we can be there whether they do [have problems] or not," he said in Austin on Thursday.

“Malaysia I don’t think Mercedes got it wrong, their pace just was not as strong. Ferrari seems, if Ferrari executes well then, they have probably the quickest car. But it does not seem like it is easy to do every weekend, so if we focus on ourselves we can be in a position regardless.”

Looking to maintain the momentum this weekend at the United States Grand Prix, the Australian sees no reason why their good form can't continue at the Circuit of the Americas.

“[Our] race pace in the last few races has been good,” Ricciardo claimed. “This track typically has been a pretty good one for us. Obviously, we need to be at our best to win, it is not going to come easy, but if we execute then we have a chance to win."

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• Renault confident of much-improved engine reliability in 2018
• Verstappen can beat Hamilton & Vettel with Red Bull - Horner

Red Bull's strong development is raising hopes that the former four-time world champions could be fully in the mix to compete from 2018.

Daniel even revealed this week the team has started work earlier on next year's car in a bid to avoid a repeat of the sluggish start, but asked if he thinks they can be competitive, he remained cautious.

“Every year we get to this point where it gives us confidence for next year. I have to say it does because it should, but next year we will see,” he commented. “Come February, March we will see where we are but we are definitely going in the direction we need to be going. So that is all we can look for.”

Teammate Max Verstappen, who himself has finished first and second in the last two races, agrees it will be harder to challenge if a weakness isn't addressed.

“I think the last few races we’ve definitely made a good step, especially like in the race, [but] in qualifying we will always be behind if we don’t have this qualifying [engine] mode,” the Dutchman said.

“That’s hard because then in the races it’s very difficult to pass but we’ll see. I think this track is actually not too bad so hopefully we can have a good race weekend again.”

Lewis Hamilton stamped his early authority on proceedings for Mercedes by topping Practice 1 in drying conditions at the United States Grand Prix.

Morning rain resulted in a damp track at the Circuit of the Americas, forcing all drivers to run on the intermediate tyres but gradually a dry line emerged with the Briton posting a 1:36.335s as he starts a weekend that could see him claim a fourth Formula 1 title.

Based on the early pace, however, those chances do seem as "silly" as the 32-year-old suggested on Thursday with main rival Sebastian Vettel second for Ferrari just pipping the other Silver Arrow of Valtteri Bottas, with the Finn in third.

The first 90 minutes of running would be dominated by the crossover from inters to slicks with Hamilton setting the pace in the wet albeit only marginally in front of Max Verstappen and Vettel.

It would be the German who was the first to use the dry rubber and would immediately improve the best time by some five seconds as much of the circuit dried out sufficiently.

Damp patches in the final sector would stop most from heading out, however, and it wasn't until Daniel Ricciardo emerged and went another five seconds faster which triggered the rest to start some meaningful running.

The top teams would opt to use the red-marked Supersoft tyres in the final 30 minutes or so with Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas and Verstappen in fourth, all on that compound.

Stoffel Vandoorne and Felipe Massa would be the only top 10 drivers to use what are pink-striped Ultrasoft Pirellis for this weekend as they claimed fifth and sixth respectively.

Kimi Raikkonen would be seventh in the second Ferrari with Esteban Ocon, who was one of three drivers to spin in the damp early on, and Sergio Perez using the Soft tyres as the two Force India's were eighth and ninth.

Carlos Sainz would complete top 10 in his first session for Renault, some eight-tenths clear of new teammate Nico Hulkenberg. Kevin Magnussen would be 11th for home team Haas with Canadian Lance Stroll 12th for Williams.

In his first F1 session with Toro Rosso, Brendon Hartley would be a solid 14th and a long way clear of Sean Gelael as the Indonesian completed another P1 run with the junior Red Bull team.

Daniel Ricciardo would have a tricky session, spinning in the wet and ending his session early to complete setup changes to his Red Bull, leaving the Australian only 16th fastest.

At Sauber, Charles Leclerc would complete his second outing for the Swiss team ending less than four-tenths behind Marcus Ericsson as Fernando Alonso brought up the order as he didn't set a time in his McLaren due to a hydraulics leak.

Renault is confident their power units will not have the same amount of reliability flaws which have impacted all three teams using them this season, with development much more advanced than a year ago.

Though Honda's woes have caught most of the engine-related headlines, the French manufacturer has also had far from an ideal year with problems arising with the overhauled design they introduced and causing multiple retirements for the likes of Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and Jolyon Palmer throughout 2017. 

As far back as June, Renault confirmed no major upgrades would be introduced as they focused on next season's unit and with even tighter limits coming on the number of elements allowed before penalties are applied, Managing Director Cyril Abiteboul admits there are worries.

"We do have some parts that are capable of covering thousands of kilometres, in fact, tens of thousands of kilometres - like the energy store or the MGU-K," he told Autosport. "But there are some specific parts that are giving us headaches, and for which reliability has been a concern this year.

"We know it is going to be a concern again next year, so it is still a bit early to confirm, but what can I tell you is that we are months in advance with our reliability programme in comparison to last year. So hopefully it will have a positive impact into next year."

Renault is facing a key moment in terms of performance next year with their engine now seen as the only hurdle preventing Red Bull from challenging for the title while their works team is also now moving up towards the head of the midfield.

In looking to optimise reliability, Abiteboul revealed more comprehensive procedures both in the engine department at Viry and the team factory at Enstone were being introduced.

"We are going to slightly change our philosophy - and going to be much more rigid on planning team milestones of the different projects - on the engine project and the chassis project," he said.

"We want to make sure that reliability is right as soon as the winter tests begin; that we are covering lots of mileage in the winter tests and so on and so forth. And hopefully, that will propagate again into the season.

"It is always difficult because time is extremely limited but we want to improve all the elements of the package, and it is a question of how late you dare brake in relation to that.

"But Remi [Taffin, F1 engine chief] in particular is very rigid in his approach to sticking to milestones in particular on the engine side."

Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull have opted for almost identical tyre choices for this weekend's United States Grand Prix in Austin.

Pirelli has gone one step softer with their allocation compared to a year ago, with the Ultrasoft compound making its first appearance at the Circuit of the Americas. For this race only, the usually purple-marked rubber has turned pink as part of a partnership with Susan G. Komen Foundation to raise awareness about women and breast cancer.

The more aggressive approach is a continuation of the trend from most races this season, as the more durable 2017 tyres have seen one-stop races become the norm. Yet with the faster cars set to increase cornering speeds in his sweeping first sector and round the long right-hander towards the end of the lap, degradation could be a more important factor.

That is why the top three teams have been a little more conservative with just seven sets of the softest compound out of their permitted 13. Both Red Bulls, Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel will all have four sets of the red-striped Supersoft and two Soft.

Lewis Hamilton has split his allocation in half with three Supersoft and three Soft while Kimi Raikkonen is the most aggressive with five Supersoft and a single set of Soft tyres.

Force India, Toro Rosso and Renault have all opted for eight sets of Ultrasofts while McLaren and Felipe Massa have the most of anyone with nine lots of the pink-striped compound to play with.

The weather is another interesting factor with rain expected on and off at various stages including Sunday morning which, though it may dry before the race, could lead to a 'green' track, similar to what they'll experience in practice on Friday.

The full allocation of tyres can be seen below:

Fernando Alonso will remain with McLaren in 2018 after signing a new contract with the British team, it has been confirmed.

The announcement was widely expected following the comments made by the Spaniard in recent weeks but it does follow months of speculation surrounding his future in what is the final year of his current deal with the team.

McLaren's lack of competitiveness due to the failing Honda partnership was the main reason for the uncertainty, but that changed after the two parties split and a new collaboration with Renault was agreed from next year.

Since then, the double world champion, who has made it clear his single desire is to win races and challenge for the title, has been positive about the Woking outfit's future direction and admitted there was nowhere else he would rather be.

“It’s fantastic to be able to continue my relationship with everybody at McLaren," he said upon confirming the news. "It was always where my heart was telling me to stay, and I really feel at home here.

"This is a fantastic team, full of incredible people, with a warmth and friendliness that I’ve never experienced elsewhere in Formula 1. I’m incredibly happy to be racing here."

Despite the problems he and the team have endured since he re-joined in 2015, Alonso maintains faith in McLaren's ability to once again challenge at the very front of the grid.

“McLaren has the technical resource and financial strength to be able to very quickly win races and world championships in F1," the 36-year-old claimed. "Although the last few years have not been easy, we have never forgotten how to win, and I believe we can achieve that again soon.

“The last three years have given us the momentum to plan and build for the future, and I’m looking forward to that journey. I’m excited for our future together – and I’m already working hard to make it a success.”

Executive Director Zak Brown was also clearly thrilled to be keeping his star driver, who has continued to give his all throughout the Honda problems and is confident together they can bring success back to McLaren.

“I’m delighted to be able to confirm that Fernando will remain at McLaren. He has been a fantastic asset to the whole organisation for the past three years, is an incredible individual and is one of the most accomplished and talented racing drivers of the modern era," he said.

“It always made sense for us to continue our journey together. His commitment will allow us to further improve the attractiveness and potential of the wider Group and will ensure we head into 2018 feeling increasingly confident that we’ll be able to take a meaningful step forward.

"Fernando fully understands and buys into the direction we are taking."