US GP: Final grid line-up

Sauber driver Gutierrez had impressed in Austin qualifying as he took 10th place, but he was adjudged to have impeded Pastor Maldonado, earning him a 10-place penalty.

Button knew from Friday that he faced a three-place drop, having overtaken when the red flags were out during the complicated opening practice session. The McLaren man struggled for pace in qualifying anyway, and was only 13th quickest.

Pic's five-place penalty was awarded after Caterham had to break the gearbox seals on his car to fix an issue. He had been 21st in qualifying.

Max Chilton, who qualified last for Marussia, was also found guilty of blocking in qualifying, with Maldonado and Adrian Sutil on the receiving end. As he could not receive a grid demotion, he will have to take a drive-through penalty within the first five laps of Sunday's race.

At the front, Sebastian Vettel beat Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber to pole position after a close battle, with Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg earning the row two spots.

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