Hulkenberg admits that he was "not good enough" to reach Q3 on Saturday

Nico Hulkenberg admitted that he didn't have enough pace to reach Q3 in Austin. The German narrowly missed out on the final qualifying session, ending up in eleventh, while his teammate Daniel Ricciardo came through in ninth.

After finishing outside the top ten, Hulkenberg will have a free choice of which tyres he uses from the start of the race.

"We were not good enough to enter Q3. I lacked a bit of rhythm and harmony at the wheel and I did not know how to get the last tenth that would have passed me in Q3. " Hulkenberg told Renault after qualifying.

"I was happy with my laps, so we'll have to settle for it. I think that eleventh place is an interesting starting position. We have a certain freedom in terms of strategy, which can sometimes work in our favour.

"I will be ready to attack and fight again tomorrow."

With three races remaining, the 32-year-old is eleventh in the drivers' standings just three points behind his teammate Ricciardo.