20.38 BST
Round 20: “Verstappen is now in our pit window,” warns Mercedes radio operator Hamilton. “No, man, I’m in trouble here,” Hamilton replies. He comes to the pits.
Updated at 20.38 BST
20.36 BST
Round 19: Red Bull has informed Verstappen that Hamilton may try a one-stop strategy. An interesting gamble. But on the team radio, Hamilton expresses his skepticism that he can do another five laps with these tires, and Verstappen has just set the fastest lap.
The Mercedes crew asks Russell the same question as Hamilton. His answer is a cheery “Yes!”
Edwin Innih Imoesi: “Is it just me, or is this Mercedes car faster?” I really hope so. By the way, next season will be epic for Hamilton and Verstappen. Provided Mercedes gets it right.”
That would be a lot of fun to watch.
Updated at 20.37 BST
20.34 BST
Round 18: Norris, Sainz and Perez come into the pits. This means that Hamilton is in the lead – at least until his pit stop.
Updated at 20.34 BST
20.32 BST
Round 17: Verstappen comes into the pits! Seems a bit early and he’s running on medium rather than hard tires. At some point he has to go back to the pits, unless everyone is mistaken about how long the medium tires last.
Updated at 20.32 BST
20.31 BST
Round 16: Stewards looked at Leclerc’s off-track excursion but took no action. Verstappen didn’t actually leave him anywhere.
Norris reports a small problem, but does not provide any further details. His team replies that there is unstable wind on part of the route.
Hamilton has set the fastest lap so far.
Updated at 20.31 BST
20.29 BST
Round 15: Hamilton is around two seconds behind Norris. Verstappen is 4.5 seconds further back and probably only plans to attack the top two after a few tire changes.
Updated at 20.29 BST
20.28 BST
Round 14: Piastri is concerned with radiator damage and a water leak. Unhappy.
Updated at 20.28 BST
20.27 BST
Round 13: Young American Logan Sargeant tackles Kevin Magnusson to avoid the humiliation of finishing last among the cars still running.
Updated at 20:27 BST
20.25 BST
Round 12: Russell was cautioned for going off the track. He is sixth. Perez, who is seventh, has complained about him on the radio several times. It looks like the cars that matter most today are in the hands of Norris, Hamilton and Verstappen.
Updated at 20.25 BST
20.23 BST
Round 11: Pitting – Albon, Bottas, Magnusson. It looks like the choice fell on hard tires there after everyone started on medium tires.
Verstappen comes up behind Leclerc and pushes the pole sitter far off the track! Leclerc continues to fight for a few more laps, but finally gives up the place.
Updated at 20.23 BST
20.22 BST
Round 10: Oh no – Piastri has a big problem. He falls further and further behind and heads into the pit lane, where he will probably pull the car out of traffic.
Updated at 20.22 BST
20.19 BST
Round 9: I said Verstappen would beat Leclerc in this round. He comes within a second. Now 0.557 seconds. But no closer.
Updated at 20:19 BST
20.18 BST
Round 8: Further back – Piastri started tenth and is in sixth place.
Updated at 20:18 BST
20.16 BST
Round 7: Norris is still more than three seconds ahead of Hamilton. How long does it take for Verstappen to overtake Leclerc for third? I say round 9.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in action. Photo: Kaylee Greenlee Beal/Portal
Updated at 20:27 BST
20.15 BST
Round 6: Mercedes seems to have done everything right today as Hamilton has no problems overtaking Leclerc for second place.
Ocon is out. Again. So much bad luck this season.
Updated at 8:15pm BST
20.13 BST
Round 5: The stewards will not take any action over Russell’s start.
Verstappen raced past Sainz…unfortunately not caught by the cameras.
Ocon’s car was apparently quite badly damaged. He is in last place and will surely come to the pits soon.
Updated at 20.13 BST
20.11 BST
Round 4: Hamilton is practically attached to the back of Sainz’s car. DRS was supposed to help him get over, and… it does. Sainz tries to defend himself, but Hamilton is simply too strong.
The top three are currently Norris, Leclerc and Hamilton.
Updated 20.11 BST
20.09 BST
Round 3: What the hell is Sergio Perez doing? This seemed like a risky move as it placed itself between Russell and Ocon. But he managed it.
Updated 9/20 BST
20.08 BST
Round 2: Norris has already built up a lead of more than 2 seconds.
Ocon reports some damage from contact with Piastri, and George Russell has caught the attention of race officials.
Updated 8/20 BST
20.06 BST
Round 1 of 56: Norris, Leclerc, Sainz (who was pretty aggressive at the start), Hamilton and Verstappen are your top five. Piastri and Ocon follow.
It looks like the launch was clean – no signs of damage to anyone.
Updated 20/06 BST
20.04 BST
Lights out!
Norris accelerates wonderfully until (in the truest sense of the word) turn 1 and takes the lead!
Updated 20.04 BST
20.02 BST
Anne Williams takes up the question I asked earlier: “Is dominance boring?” Well, I had to laugh when Lewis Hamilton complained about it! Welcome back!”
I’m not sure if the “welcome back” applies to me or to Hamilton, but either way, thank you very much.
Ian Simmins also answers: “Formula 1 went through it before Prost, Senna, Schumacher and Vettel. Verstappen is not to blame, his competition is not doing enough.”
What can they do differently? I’m particularly amazed that Mercedes has fallen so far behind Red Bull. Is Verstappen that much better, or is it because of the equipment?
We have drivers in cars. The pre-race ceremonies, which seemed muted compared to what we saw in Miami (LL Cool J!), have come to an end.
Updated 20/02 BST
19.55 BST
It’s a quiet national anthem by someone I don’t know.
But I already have mail! Bill Preston writes:
“If you have a driver who every race, when the lights go out, beats him up and uses that superiority to win, it’s easy to end up in a ‘Oh, this is all a bit boring’ situation sinks.
“However, when we change our focus and see the leaps, bounds and pure, exhilarating heroics of teams and drivers who are not yet quite at the top of the regulatory corner, then it is a breathtaking spectacle.”
“Sports tells a story, and storytelling is at its best when you look away from the main hero and see what the other characters are doing.”
This is entirely valid, and there are indeed some good stories below. From my perspective as someone from the land of the stars and stripes, the big question is whether the investments in hosting races and broadcasting exciting documentary series will eventually pay off with a stronger US presence in the drivers’ or constructors’ championships. Added to this is the persistence of Fernando Alonso. And a good race for second place of the season.
For Adrian Fowell, history is an ugly American: “Nothing says more that Formula 1 should stay away from countries that don’t care than not knowing that (Hamilton) often uses a scooter in GP.”
This proves that I often tune out as I walk through the grid before the race, even though that seems to be in keeping with the American sensibility toward celebrity obsession.
Speaking of which, we are once again treated to the Adam Driver intro. He is in the upcoming film Ferrari.
Updated at 19.55 BST
19.47 BST
Lewis Hamilton inexplicably rides a scooter to his car.
Lewis Hamilton makes his way onto the starting grid. Photo: Brian Snyder/Portal
Updated at 19:47 BST
19.43 BST
Rory McIlroy is one of the celebrities on the grid today and he offers a bit of Ryder Cup trash talk. Yeah, well… how does Northern Ireland do in basketball? Well there.
Updated at 19:43 BST
19.35 BST
Is dominance boring?
Verstappen was virtually unbeatable this season and last. Does this dominance reduce your enjoyment of Formula 1? Or do you enjoy watching if there’s a chance this is the week he loses? Or do you like it when one of the best Formula 1 drivers of all time is just reaching his prime?
For other philosophical questions: Who is this Elton John impersonator currently appearing on the show?
Updated at 19.35 BST
19.21 BST
The grid
This is the 18th of 22 races this season. Teams will remain in the Americas until mid-November, traveling to Mexico City, Sao Paulo and the highly anticipated stop in Las Vegas – before landing in Abu Dhabi.
Here’s a look at the starting grid and each driver’s prospects of achieving something significant this season…
Charles Leclerc does the laps before the race. Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images
1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – Duel with teammate Sainz for fifth place.
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – Had a tough time at the start of the season but is in a solid seventh place after a few podium finishes.
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – The seven-time champion is only 27 points short of second place.
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race this season.
5.George Russell (Mercedes) – currently eighth behind his British compatriot Norris.
6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – clinched the season title…apparently before the season even started.
7. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – in 10th place, one point ahead of Stroll.
8. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) – in 12th place, but close to Gasly and Stroll.
9. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) – desperately trying to stop Hamilton and score a one-two finish for the Red Bull season.
10. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – Ninth, well behind Russell but well ahead of Gasly.
11. Yuko Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) – only three points thanks to three tenth places.
12. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) – Multiply Tsunoda’s results by two. He has six points from three ninth-place finishes.
13. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) – 14th place or first among drivers who have no hope of reaching the top 10.
*14. Kevin Magnusson (Haas) – The US team only has 12 points this year. Magnusson has three of them.
15. Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri) – The affable Australian was without a driver at the start of the season but was brought in mid-season to replace Nyck de Vries. He then broke a bone in his left hand and missed a few races, but returns today hoping for his first points of the season.
*16. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) – the record holder for the most starts without a podium finish has nine points.
*17. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – The 2005 and 2006 champion is just 18 points behind Hamilton on his way to the final podium.
18. Alex Albon (Williams) – is currently in 13th place, but would need to finish above his season-high seventh at some point to have a realistic chance of making the top 10.
*19. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – sandwiched between Alpine’s Gasly and Ocon in the race for 10th place.
20. Logan Sargeant (Williams) – the only US driver in Formula 1 to be excluded this season.
However, Haas and Aston Martin have decided to tweak some things on their cars, which means they will have to start from the pitlane. This means the actual bottom seven will be:
14.Ricciardo
15. Albon
16. Sergeant
Then every 17 years Magnusson, Hülkenberg, Alonso and Stroll will emerge like cicadas from the pit lane.
Updated at 19:21 BST