Lewis Hamilton declares Mercedes upgrade a success as he 'should have got Sprint pole'

Lewis Hamilton believes he had the pace to land pole in the USA as his upgrades paid off.

The Brit has struggled in recent races as his time with the Silver Arrows winds down. Fifth is his best finish since he was handed the , but in Austin Mercedes were back challenging near the front of the pack.

eventually took pole on Friday night in preparation for Saturday's sprint race. His championship rival Lando Norris finds himself in fourth with Hamilton lining up in seventh after a yellow flag hampered him when he was on a hot lap.

Team-mate George Russell will line up on the front row alongside Verstappen's Red Bull but Hamilton, having seen the potential pace within the car, has declared that the "upgrade has fully worked" as he felt pole position got away from him in Texas.

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He told : "I just got unlucky with a yellow flag. It is what it is - I was four-tenths up. It is what it is. The good thing is that the team has made a good step with the car. The upgrade has fully worked and I am grateful to everyone back in the factory for their hard work over this period of time. It has been a tough slog for everyone to get the upgrade and make sure they are working. Tomorrow we have another shot.

"We did a great job to make changes to the car [after practice]. It is always a bit of a gamble because you do not know whether or not they are going to work, the changes that you make, but you hope they do what you aim to do with them. As soon as I got out there in he car it was a night and day difference, so it was great work from the guys in the garage."

Hamilton is a six-time winner around the Austin track and will be seeking a third win of the season across the weekend. Mercedes sit fourth in the constructor's standings but are unlikely to catch Ferrari nor can they can caught by Aston Martin below them.

Verstappen will start from the front of the grid for the first time since the Austrian Grand Prix at the end of June. He will aim to further extend his lead at the top of the standings with Norris hunting him down in recent months.

The Dutchman said after his lap: "Of course, Sprint Quali is always very difficult, you never really know how much you can push. The whole day the car was working well. I'm happy to be first, it's been a while, so happy with today. This track is amazing to drive. With new tarmac, a little bit of old, then the bumps, it's not easy but it's fun."

Norris was less than impressed with his lap as he left himself work to do ahead of Saturday. The McLaren driver said: "Not very good. Not a great day. Been struggling the whole day, honestly, with the balance and set-up. In a way, happy with P4 because it could have been a lot worse, but the lap was shocking."