Key events<\/p>\n
Lap 27\/56: As things stand, Antonelli will be ahead of Verstappen when Max pits.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 26\/56: Hadjar pits and Kimi moves up to third. Hamilton is fourth, which means Antonelli would not win the title if he goes on to clinch this race today.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 25\/56: Antonelli pits! And he reenters in fourth but he won\u2019t pit again this race, whereas everyone else ahead of him will. The Italian remains the favourite for this race.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 24\/56: Verstappen is 13 seconds behind Antonelli in first. Hadjar did not like having to let Max through into second but was quickly told by the team where to stick his feelings.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 23\/56: Russell pits and serves his five-second penalty while he\u2019s at it. He reenters the race in 10th. That means \u2013 as things stand with Russell in 10th and Hamilton in fifth \u2013 that Antonelli would win the title if he wins the race today. But things are likely to change between now and then. Verstappen moves into second.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 22\/56: Verstappen in now in third. He\u2019s set to pit once more this race, as is the leader, Antonelli. The gap between first and third is around 14 seconds.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.41 EDT<\/p>\n Lap 21\/56: Leclerc, who has had an excellent race today, overtakes Russell and is now in fourth. Russell, remember, needs to finish outside the top eight for Antonelli to have a chance of clinching the title today.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 20\/56: The Ferraris edge up to fifth (Leclerc) and sixth (Hamilton). Leclerc also sets the fastest lap of the race so far.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 19\/56: Antonelli\u2019s lead over Hadjar remains around 12 seconds. Bearman is given a 10-second penalty for causing a collision with Gasly in the opening stages of the race. He\u2019s down in 18th anyway.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 18\/56: At the moment, Antonelli would emerge behind Verstappen if he pitted now and everything proceeded smoothly. But it looks like he\u2019ll pit just once this race, with Verstappen going twice.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 17\/56: Antonelli is 11.6sec ahead of Hadjar in second but has yet to pit. Max is gaining around a second a lap on the Italian. Here\u2019s Beau Dure: \u201cIs Verstappen\u2019s radio broken? We haven\u2019t heard him complain yet.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 16\/56: Verstappen is already up two places after his pit stop, using his new tyres nicely. Leclerc pits and emerges sixth, one place ahead of Hamilton again.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 15\/56: Hamilton goes on to mediums when he pits and comes back in ninth. He needs to finish fourth or better to keep his (very, very, very) faint hopes of winning the title alive.<\/p>\n Photograph: Ronaldo Schemidt\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.38 EDT<\/p>\n Lap 14\/56: No further action for Bortoleto after he was investigated for leaving the track. Max goes into pit and reemerges in eighth place. He\u2019s on soft tyres still. He\u2019ll be happy with that smooth pit.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 13\/56: Leclerc, in third, is putting distance between himself and Ferrari teammate Hamilton in fourth. Kimi\u2019s lead over Verstappen continues to hover around 2.4sec.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 12\/56: Alonso slips past Albon and into 15th. There\u2019s a big gap to Hulkenberg in 14th though \u2013 around six seconds.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.31 EDT<\/p>\n Lap 11\/56: Bortoleto now under investigation for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. He\u2019s down in 17th at the moment. Moral of the story: drive on the track.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 10\/56: Hamilton is fourth, which means that even if Russell\u2019s five-second penalty puts him outside the top eight, Antonelli would not wrap up the title today if he wins the race (as things stand).<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 9\/56: Kimi is estimated to pit with his medium tyres between laps 21 and 27. His lead is up close to three seconds now.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.20 EDT<\/p>\n Lap 8\/56: Russell is given a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. He doesn\u2019t seem impressed on team radio. \u201cNo need to send anyone to El Paso for a penalty start,\u201d emails David C Hunter. \u201cAll Austin drivers are suffering as I-35 is entirely rebuilt!\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 7\/56: Antonelli and Verstappen are evenly match. Kimi will pull off one good lap and Max will hit back with another. That means we\u2019re at a status quo \u2013 Antonelli\u2019s lead is still just over two seconds at the end the lap.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 6\/56: Russell is under investigation for leaving the track and gaining an advantage on the first lap. He was battling with Piastri at the time.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 5\/56: Verstappen was starting to catch Antonelli but a quick few laps and the Italian\u2019s lead is at 2.5sec.<\/p>\n Photograph: Ronaldo Schemidt\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.21 EDT<\/p>\n Lap 4\/56: Hadjar, who started the day third on the grid, is down to fifth after the Ferraris passed him on the opening lap.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 3\/56: George Russell is currently sixth \u2013 he needs to finish outside the top eight for Antonelli to clinch the title today. Max has the fastest lap of the race so far, but will be disappointed he didn\u2019t get a better start with the grippy softs.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 2\/56: There\u2019s some debris on the track and the virtual safety car is out. Antonelli has a lead of 2.1 seconds and is looking comfortable. Looks like Max may have driven over some of the debris but it doesn\u2019t seem to have caused any damage.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lap 1\/56: Antonelli gets a very good start, Verstappen didn\u2019t seem to get any power and the Italian increases the control he already had by sitting on pole. The Ferraris also had a good start \u2013 Leclerc is up to third and Hamilton up to fourth.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of penalizing Bortoledo 80 places, they should just have him start in El Paso,\u201d chuckles Beau Dure.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Tyre update: Kimi will start on medium tyres, while No 2 and No 3 on the grid \u2013 Verstappen and Hadjar \u2013 are on softs, as are the Ferraris.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Grid change. Lance Stroll will now start from the pit<\/a> after setup changes.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>What Antonelli needs to clinch the title today<\/p>\n Just a reminder what Kimi needs to do to become the youngest world champion of all time today. He\u2019ll clinch the title if he wins and George Russell finishes outside the top eight, with Lewis Hamilton outside the top four.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.51 EDT<\/p>\n Max Verstappen may hold off attacking right at the start of the race. He\u2019s asked how important he thinks turn one is for this race. \u201cNot as important as in Singapore,\u201d he replies quickly.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>The grid<\/p>\n Lewis Hamilton sounds sort of positive ahead of today\u2019s race, which he\u2019ll start from fifth on the grid.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m hoping we can challenge for a podium. That would be awesome but it\u2019s going to be tough. It\u2019s definitely going to be really tough. We just have to see where we go,\u201d said Hamilton.<\/p>\n US GP grid and qualifying times<\/p>\n 1 Kimi Antonelli \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf9 Mercedes 1:34.035 Share<\/a><\/p>\n Conditions are pretty good for racing today. Temperatures will be around 28C\/82F and no rain is broadcast. It\u2019s not as blustery as it was yesterday either.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Max Verstappen starts second today behind Antonelli but don\u2019t be surprised if he ends up winning today\u2019s race. He\u2019s also worked himself up a little before the race, having criticized the track in Austin as too bumpy. When circuit boss Boby Epstein brushed off those concerns, Max was having none of it: \u201cI invite him to drive my car,\u201d Verstappen told Dutch journalists on Saturday. \u201cI think he\u2019d have to get out after five laps and wouldn\u2019t be able to walk anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n If I drove Max\u2019s car for five laps I wouldn\u2019t be able to walk either, but for very different reasons.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n We\u2019ve done the drivers\u2019 standings, so here\u2019s a brief reminder of the constructors:<\/p>\n \n Share<\/a><\/p>\n On the US broadcast, Apple has decided to bring on as its expert \u2026 Apple CEO John Ternus. We find out that he likes driving and thinks F1 (broadcast on Apple TV) is growing rapidly in the US and he think F1 The Movie (produced by Apple Studios) was very good. Funny that.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Who says nice guys don\u2019t finish first? Kimi may well not clinch the title today, but he almost certainly will soon. Giles Richards looked at why Everyone Loves Kimi for us earlier this week:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n So here we are. Nine-year-old Kimi Antonelli* has a chance to become the youngest champion in F1 history today \u2013 and he\u2019s sitting on pole too<\/a>. He leads the championship by 102 points over his Mercedes teammate George Russell. He\u2019ll clinch the championship if he wins and Russell finishes outside the top eight, with Lewis Hamilton outside the top four. While the two Britons will push Antonelli, the man who appears to be most on his mind is Max Verstappen, who has been in brilliant form \u2013 and not just against amateur karters<\/a> \u2013 and sits second on the grid in Austin.<\/p>\n \u201cMax has been very quick and did an incredible job in qualifying so it\u2019s not going to be easy,\u201d Antonelli said on Saturday. \u201cHopefully we\u2019ll be leading into turn one and we\u2019ll try to set the pace, even though it\u2019s going to be very tight.\u201d<\/p>\n Drivers\u2019 standings<\/p>\n \n Yet to score: * Actual age of F1 genius may be closer to 20.<\/p>\n
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2 Max Verstappen \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddf1 Red Bull 1:34.214
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3 Isack Hadjar \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 Red Bull 1:34.250
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4 Charles Leclerc \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\udde8 Ferrari 1:34.267
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5 Lewis Hamilton \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 Ferrari 1:34.311
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6 George Russell \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 Mercedes 1:34.476
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7 Oscar Piastri \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa McLaren 1:34.803
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8 Lando Norris \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 McLaren 1:35.049
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9 Liam Lawson \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddff Racing Bulls 1:35.058 (Q2, no Q3 time)
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10 Pierre Gasly \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 Alpine 1:35.080
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11 Nico H\u00fclkenberg \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea Audi 1:35.158
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12 Fernando Alonso \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddf8 Aston Martin 1:35.818
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13 Oliver Bearman \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 Haas 1:36.031
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*
\n 14 Arvid Lindblad \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 Racing Bulls 1:36.049
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15 Esteban Ocon \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 Haas 1:36.531
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16 Lance Stroll \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 Aston Martin 1:36.677
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17 Carlos Sainz \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddf8 Williams 1:36.770
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18 Alexander Albon \ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\udded Williams 1:36.967
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19 Sergio P\u00e9rez \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfd Cadillac 1:37.433
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20 Valtteri Bottas \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddee Cadillac 1:37.523
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**
\n 21 Franco Colapinto \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddf7 Alpine 1:35.722
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\u2020
\n 22 Gabriel Bortoleto \ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddf7 Audi 1:35.691
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*Lindblad penalised five places for use of additional power unit element.
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**Colapinto penalised 10 places for use of additional power unit element.
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\u2020Bortoleto penalised 80 places for use of additional power unit elements.<\/p>\n
1 Mercedes \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea 578pts
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2 Ferrari \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf9 444
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3 McLaren \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 339
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4 Red Bull \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddf9 332
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5 Racing Bulls \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf9 100
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6 Alpine \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 68
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7 Haas \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 30
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8 Audi \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea 23
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9 Williams \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 12
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10 Aston Martin \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 7
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11 Cadillac \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 0\n<\/p>\n
1 Kimi Antonelli \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf9 Mercedes 340 pts
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2 George Russell \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 Mercedes 238
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3 Lewis Hamilton \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 Ferrari 229
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4 Max Verstappen \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddf1 Red Bull 221
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5 Charles Leclerc \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\udde8 Ferrari 215
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6 Lando Norris \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 McLaren 201
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7 Oscar Piastri \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa McLaren 138
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8 Isack Hadjar \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 Red Bull 97
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9 Liam Lawson \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddff Racing Bulls 75
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10 Pierre Gasly \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 Alpine 41
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11 Arvid Lindblad \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 Racing Bulls 38
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12 Franco Colapinto \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddf7 Alpine 27
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13 Oliver Bearman \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 Haas 23
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14 Nico H\u00fclkenberg \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea Audi 13
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15 Gabriel Bortoleto \ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddf7 Audi 10
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16 Esteban Ocon \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 Haas 7
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17 Fernando Alonso \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddf8 Aston Martin 7
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18 Carlos Sainz \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddf8 Williams 7
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19 Alexander Albon \ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\udded Williams 5
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20 Yuki Tsunoda \ud83c\uddef\ud83c\uddf5 Racing Bulls 1\n<\/p>\n
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Lance Stroll \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 Aston Martin
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Valtteri Bottas \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddee Cadillac
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Sergio P\u00e9rez \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfd Cadillac
\n <\/p>\n