Sebastian Vettel's supremacy in Formula 1 continued as he surged to pole position with an electric final qualifying lap at the United States Grand Prix.

The German was on course for second spot behind his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber until he overcame the Aussie's lead with a blistering final third of his last lap.

The Red Bulls appear to be in a class of their own at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas as third-placed Romain Grosjean was seven-tenths of a second slower than Webber.

Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes made up the top five. The latter's teammate Nico Rosberg struggled and was knocked out in Q2. He will start the race in 13th place.

Heikki Kovalainen, who is filling in for fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus, managed eighth place on his return to the sport.

Standings in full

1. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2. Mark Webber (Red Bull)
3. Romain Grosjean (Lotus)
4. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
5. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
6. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
7. Sergio Perez (Sauber)
8. Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus)
9. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
10. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber)
11. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)
12. Paul di Resta (Force India)
13. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
14. Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
15. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso)
16. Jenson Button* (McLaren)
17. Adrian Sutil (Force India)
18. Pastor Maldonado (Williams)
19. Giedo van der Garde (Caterham)
20. Jules Bianchi (Marussia)
21. Charles Pic (Caterham)
22. Max Chilton (Marussia)

*Three-place grid penalty