Nico Rosberg earned a chance to tighten the Formula One championship duel with Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton by winning the pole position Saturday for the U.S. Grand Prix, while the race faced a threat of a boycott by as many as three teams that are struggling financially.
Rosberg edged Hamilton by .376 seconds at the Circuit of the Americas. Valtteri Bottas of Williams will start third.
Hamilton leads Rosberg by 17 points in the driver's championship with three races left.
Saturday's qualifying was clouded by the roiling tensions between Formula One's wealthiest teams and those struggling to survive. Two teams, Marussia and Caterham, had already dropped out of Sunday's race because of financial problems, reducing the grid to at most 18 cars, the smallest in nine years.
And it could get smaller.
Sahara Force India deputy principal Bob Fernley said his team, Sauber and Lotus, were discussing a potential boycott Sunday or pulling out after one lap but wouldn't commit to either action.
"It's something that has to be discussed with the team owners. That's quite a serious decision and they're the only ones who can make it," Fernley said. "It's not off the table, that's for sure."
Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn declined comment. Lotus chairman Gerard Lopez seemed to try to distance himself from such an agreement.
Despite Fernley identifying Lotus as being part of the discussions, Lopez said he hadn't heard of it until it was reported in the media.
"I was quite surprised when I heard about it," Lopez said.
Lopez acknowledged "much frustration" by the struggling teams over the financial imbalance in Formula One, but added he would be "highly surprised" if the teams didn't race.
Officials at FIA, the sport's governing body, did not immediately comment.
The mere threat of the action conjured up images of the disastrous U.S. Grand Prix of 2005, when a boycott over tire safety resulted in only six cars racing. Winner Michael Schumacher was booed on the podium, the traditional champagne celebration was canceled and the public address announcer implored fans not throw things.
The current conflict between top teams and those struggling to survive reached the critical stage this week with the collapse of Marussia and Caterham.
On Friday, Lotus, Sahara Force India, Sauber, Marussia sparred with Mercedes and McLaren officials in a contentious news conference, arguing whether Formula One should adopt spending caps or other means to help smaller teams survive.
Formula One commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone further enflamed things when he told Sky Sports that the small teams are needed only "if they are going to be there performing properly and not moving around with begging buckets."
If those teams pull out of the race, Sunday's grid would be missing the two Mexican drivers, Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez and Sahara Force India's Sergio Perez, who draw thousands of fans to the race from across the border.
Rosberg and Hamilton declined comment on the potential boycott.
Former Formula One world champion Jackie Stewart said a boycott would be a bad move by the teams and the business partners.
"I can't imagine that would be a sensible thing for any team to do," Steward said. "Formula One is the largest commercial sport in the world. That's the last thing you want to be playing around with."
Stewart also said it would be a dangerous move for Formula One just three years into its re-emergence in the American market.
The teams aren't trying to damage Formula One by trying to get the sport to listen to them, Fernley said.
"The last thing anybody wants to do, particularly the owners of these three teams, who are pure racers, would be to damage anything," Fernley said. "But you've also gotto understand that Formula One is also damaging them at the moment. There as to be some form of coming together."
On the track, Rosberg earned his ninth pole of the season as Mercedes locked up to the top two spots for the 10th time.
"First place today is awesome," Rosberg said, "but it's the race that counts."
Defending race and world champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull will start Sunday from pit lane, after incurring a penalty for using his sixth engine this season.
