26/56 Lando Norris was overtaking Verstappen, who heads to the pits, after which Sainz precedes him into fourth place. The undercut puts Leclerc in the lead with McLaren, who has not yet pitted, ahead of Sainz. Norris drives well.

25/56 “My tires are really bad now,” says Verstappen. Ferrari is in a position to get him quickly.

24/56 Sainz sets off on the fastest lap yet on those hard tires.

23/56 Franco Colapinto, the youngster, overtakes Fernando Alonso, the veteran. McLaren tries to calculate their pace on the tires in pursuit of Verstappen. Leclerc says: “I don’t want to be under pressure” regarding Ferrari’s strategy.

22/56 Sainz goes in and puts hard tires on his Ferrari. He finishes fifth, ahead of Perez. The McLarens are ahead on his way to chasing Verstappen.

21/56 Most of the action takes place on the pitch, so serene has been Leclerc’s progress since that start.

20/56 Is an undermining in the offing? Sainz might try it with Verstappen, who is slow on his current tires, and with that mysterious problem.

19/56 The battle for eighth place has begun, Tsunoda and Hulkenberg before Tsunado goes into the pits. Leclerc becomes even clearer: eight seconds.

18/56 Leclerc has a seven-second lead over Verstappen; the Ferraris have Max in a sandwich.

17/56 Liam Lawson is chasing Hulkenberg for tenth, with the hapless Perez in ninth. Toto Wolff’s assessment of the Russell sentence is a “total joke”.

16/56 George Russell gets a penalty for passing Bottas: five seconds. No luck for the Mercs this weekend. “What?!” is George’s answer.

15/56 Hugh Molloy gets in touch: “For God’s sake, Lando, just let him hit you. Verstappen has more to lose, he is guaranteed to push you away, just stick to your guns! Completely bottled.”

Yes, way too hesitant.

14/56 George Russell, on a hard tire, makes up places to 13th. Verstappen is told that there is a problem with his car; it will be resolved when he goes into the pit lane.

13/56 This heat must be hard on the tires. There’s a lot of talk about what the strategy might be. Lando Norris says his tires are fine, but his car’s speed is not good enough.

12/56 Leclerc continues to hold that fastest lap. Liam Lawson passes Alonso into eleventh place, replacing Daniel Ricciardo. He is touted for Red Bull next season.

11/56 George Russell is in 15th place after starting in that pit lane. Sainz tells his team that things are getting better. It smells fuel longer. Phew. His Ferrari is far ahead of Norris, 2.5 seconds.

10/56 Leclerc leads, Verstappen second, Sainz loses pace, with the McLarens behind him. Zhou Guanyu is the latest to run. “I don’t know what happened there,” he tells his team.

9/56 “No power coming out of the corners,” says Sainz. He smells fuel in the car. He comes by and Norris is able to close. That’s bad news for Ferrari.

8/56 Is this a one-stop race? It looks like a few are protecting their bonds.

7/56 Norris struggles to keep up with the leading three. Piastri, his teammate, is also slow. Problems for McLaren?

6/56 The Merc has now been taken off the track, the safety car is moving to the side. Leclerc and Verstappen get to work on it, straight from the gun. No DRS in this round. Liam Lawson, who started 19th, is 12th. Nice riding, young man. Leclerc is ahead at Red Bull. He sets a fastest lap.

5/56 First safety car since Canada, and the field is closed. Albon made a pit stop after his joke. Lando and his McLaren team want a steward at the start. Success. That won’t happen. “Same as Budapest,” says Norris. Verstappen seemed to go off track and hold his position

4/56 An eventful start, and Norris will rue his lack of aggression at the start. In the package. Ocon and Albon clashed. That hill start caused a bloodbath. The Hamilton crash looks like he lost it. “Sorry, guys,” he says. No rear grip, it seems.

Lewis Hamilton has left. Safety car called

2/56 Huge shouts from the audience. Leclerc has the afterburners on and is a full second ahead of Verstappen. Sainz is also chasing Verstappen. Ferrari is in control here

And here we go! Lights out…Leclerc steals the lead

Okay, here we go. The formation round begins. “Damn, so far back,” says Lewis Hamilton, back in 17th. Mercedes have had a shock in qualifying with George Russell in the pit lane. Lando Norris on pole leads the field. The two Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc are second on the grid.

Max Verstappen: “Yesterday was an indication that things were a bit better. The sprint should repeat itself to the main race. Winning would make life a lot easier. That has always been the goal.”

AC/DC’s Thunderstruck plays too loud for the telecasters. Great record.

Martin Brundle is doing his pit walk. A short conversation with Fernando Alonso. “We start seventh but we are not the seventh fastest,” says the veteran. Pierre Gasly: ​​​​“The team did very well. The car seems to have come to life.” Kevin Magnussen, top 10 in the Haas: “It seems like the car likes this track. It’s great to be so competitive. Every race in F1 is a gift.”

The wind has died down on the hill at the start of the race. Martin talks to Gabby Douglas, the Olympic gold medalist. She is a fan of Lewis Hamilton and hopes to meet him later. Mondo Duplantis is also there. “I like adrenaline…just having fun.”

Gordon Ramsay is there and seems a little excited. But no swear words. And here comes the national anthem. The stadium announcer sounds robotic, like a talking elevator. The Stars and the Stripes sound in choir style. None of your vocal histrionics here, although some nice soprano work. It’s reminiscent of a Disney movie from the 1960s.

Cowboy hats are visible in the crowd.

The weather report from Austin, Texasand at the Circuit of the Americas it is warm and sunny, 27 degrees Celsius. Clear blue skies. What effect could that have on the tires?

Bad news for Mercedes: George Russell starts from the pit lane.

Revised starting lineup:

• 1. Lando Norris

• 2. Max Verstappen

• 3. Carlos Sainz

• 4. Charles Leclerc

• 5. Oscar Piastri

• 6. Pierre Gasly

• 7. Fernando Alonso

• 8. Kevin Magnussen

• 9. Sergio Perez

• 10. Yuki Tsunoda

• 11. Nico Hulkenberg

• 12. Esteban Ocon

• 13. Lance walk

• 14. Alex Albon

• 15. Franco Colapinto

• 16. Valtteri Bottas

• 17.Lewis Hamilton

• 18.Zhou Guanyu

• 19. Liam Lawson*

Pit Street. George Russel**

Also report on Saturday’s sprint race.

And also in the garages.

Before Friday’s race, the FIA ​​confirmed it was investigating complaints that Red Bull may have gained an advantage by using a device that allowed them to adjust the bib, also known as the tea tray – the front of the car’s floor. – after qualifying to achieve a better racing setup, when regulations prohibit changes to the car under certain circumstances.

Things are getting a little exciting in the mind games department.

Giles Richards previews the final six races of the F1 season.

As things stand, Norris and McLaren have the fastest car on the grid in the MCL38. More important, and crucial to Norris’s hopes, is the stable platform it provides on different circuits and how quickly the team is able to adapt it to local conditions, ensuring it is up to par early in the weekend.

The starting grid positions:

Preamble