Hamilton can clinch the title if he wins in Austin and Vettel finishes third or lower and the German now faces a huge task in stopping the Brit, who looks nailed on to win his fifth world crown.
Race stewards ruled that Vettel failed to slow sufficiently when the red flags were waved to stop the session after Charles Leclerc spun off.
Vettel was also given another two penalty points on his racing licence and is now just seven points away from receiving a one-race ban.
It is the latest in a catalogue of cock-ups from the German and his SEVENTH high-profile mistake of the season, including slipping off and crashing while leading his home GP.
Yet the four-time world champ is refusing to accept sole responsibility for losing out to Hamilton – despite having the faster car for much of the season.
HOW HAMILTON CAN WIN THE TITLE ON SUNDAY
Hamilton finishes and Vettel is
1st 3rd or lower
2nd 5th or lower
3rd 7th or lower
4th 8th or lower
5th 9th or lower
6th 11th or lower
He said: "I think some [of the races] I should've done better. If you want to name one, then Hockenheim.
"But overall I think we just didn't have enough races where we had the speed to dominate the weekend, put the car on pole and finish first.
"Unfortunately it didn't happen too often — or not often enough."
Meanwhile, Hamilton dominated Friday's practice in Austin topping both sessions, despite the heavy downpour.
The Brit was quickest in the morning session and, somewhat hilariously, only needed ONE timed lap to top the second session, leading the field by 1.5seconds.
His time for his single attempt was a whopping 5.2seconds better than Vettel's, who was only 10th fastest.
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