F1 United States GP live updates: Follow latest from FP1 and sprint ...

Formula One is back in the U.S. for round 19 of the 2024 world championship at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.

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I’ve now come down to the esses in sector one, to see the cars at high speed.

The Ferrari is looking pretty handy through this section, as is the McLaren — particularly at the second left-hand point, really sharp on turn in.

Lots of confidence it seems.

⏰ 32/60mins: We have both Red Bulls out now, both on soft tires. Cue Max Verstappen going fastest this session, with a 1:33.855. He is also complaining of his tires still feeling cold.

Sergio Perez then records a time some eight-tenths slower, and that is not the sort of gap to his teammate the Mexican will want to be associated with.

Let’s see if that closes before FP1 is complete but for now, this track is still looking well short of grip.

I’ve seen Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton go wide in Turn 19 now. The track is definitely a little slippery with its repave.

Franco Colapinto is running a race pace program and not running DRS on the straightaways, so running a little slower than the rest.

It’s not too surprising considering this is the only practice session of the weekend and Colapinto has never raced an F1 car at COTA.

⏰ 25/60mins: We’ve got a trio of drivers in double figures for laps in FP1 so far — one of them being Charles Leclerc, who also has the fastest time to date of 1:34.966 in his Ferrari after his 11 laps.

George Russell (10) and Liam Lawson (13) on his RB debut complete that list, while Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz (1:35.231) is closest to Leclerc.

⏰ 14/60mins: After Hamilton, there is then a big spin for his Mercedes teammate, George Russell. He was out a little wide of the apex and as he hooked the car in, the rear just lost all grip and sent him around.

He’s rejoined but that won’t instil much confidence.

⏰ 14/60mins: Now that is a much bigger spin, and at high speed, for Lewis Hamilton. It’s on into Turn 3 and 4, and it’s a pretty scary moment.

There is a bump on one of the approaches and the drivers are going to have to watch for that if they’re to avoid suffering similar or worse than Hamilton.

The Brit has now radioed into the Mercedes garage to say his tires are going to need a check.

⏰ 10/60mins: The first stints are well underway now, with all 20 cars currently out on track.

Franco Colapinto and Oscar both had early wobbles with the lack of rear grip, but not with too much lost.

But that spin at Turn 1 for Pierre Gasly is more erratic, and costs him a few seconds before he gets going again.

The resurfaced track here in Austin could also change the characteristics of the circuit.

This famously has been one of the bumpiest tracks on the calendar, given it was built essentially on barren ranch land.

It already looks a lot smoother at Turn 1, but it will also be low grip too until they complete enough laps to rubber it all in.

It’s quite windy out here. I’ve made my way to the top of the hill at Turn 1 — and boy is it windy!

The giant American flag is flapping in the breeze and given how wind sensitive these cars are, it could make for an extra challenge for the drivers.

Here we go. After almost four weeks of F1 quiet, the cars are allowed back on track — kicking off the action in Austin, Texas.

It’s going to be some weekend here. And remember, this hour is the ONLY hour of practice the teams and drivers are going to get.

Later today is qualifying for tomorrow’s sprint race, which takes place ahead of qualifying for the grand prix.

Don’t go anywhere. This is when the fun really begins, and we’ve got you covered from here.

Booooo! Last year in this part of the paddock, there was a stagecoach and an old-timey band playing old-timey bluegrass music.

This year, there’s a pickleball court and a soccer ball kicking game.

Massive, massive downgrade… In this humble reporter’s opinion.

It may be all eyes on Austin, Texas this weekend but hovering in the background is F1’s return west, for Nevada and the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The second visit follows the inaugural event in 2023, which burst onto the scene in typical Vegas fashion.

This year, the plan is to scale back on some of the unapologetic razzmatazz of last year — for example, there will be no hugely expensive opening ceremony.

But there will be the introduction of an ice rink for 2024. Naturally.

Luke Smith dug into what awaits F1 on its second hedonistic weekend in Vegas, and you can read his findings below.

GO FURTHER

VIP ice rink, free festival: Can the Las Vegas GP be ‘something for everybody’ in 2024?

This is the second of three visits to the United States for Formula One in 2024, with the second Las Vegas Grand Prix on the way next month.

It all kicked off back in Miami in May, where just like in Austin last year, Max Verstappen took sprint and grand prix pole in qualifying — also dominating the sprint race.

But the grand prix was a different matter, and a little piece of history for Lando Norris as the McLaren driver claimed his first F1 victory.

That now feels like quite the moment, given Norris is pushing to finish the same year as world champion.

We’ve just had our first chance to chat to Andy Cowell, the new group CEO of the Aston Martin F1 team, since he started in the role this month.

Cowell was one of the key figures during Mercedes’ domination of F1 through the 2010s, overseeing its supremely successful power units division.

His final race was Abu Dhabi 2019 and he never intended to return to F1, only for the sport to suck him back in when Lawrence Stroll — Aston Martin’s billionaire owner — got in touch to sound him out about a role.

Cowell has only been in the job for 18 days but he’s been busy. He’s been at the factory getting to know people, admitting he’s forgetting some names due to the huge number of new faces.

He also spent time in Saudi Arabia with Aramco, Aston Martin’s fuel partner, and in Sakura, Japan, to see how Honda’s 2026 engine program is coming along ahead of their link-up for the new regulations.

Cowell said it’s been a disappointing season for Aston Martin, which fell away from being a podium regular with Fernando Alonso in the early part of last year to now grabbing occasional points — and added it was a feeling shared by everyone in the team.

But he’s clear in his vision to help the team reach the top, bringing together the vast resources and new facilities, including a fresh factory.

Keep an eye out for a long read on the state of Aston Martin in the coming weeks.

We are here for it. How about this from earlier today in Austin, as Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur chatted with McLaren CEO Zak Brown.

Sling us your caption suggestions — or any other thoughts on the F1 weekend ahead for that matter — with an email to: [email protected]

I’m already looking forward to reading them.

It feels like we’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time — and almost four weeks is a lifetime in Formula One.

But here we are: just one hour to go before the start of free practice.

And remember, FP1 will be the sole hour of free practice for the teams and drivers ahead of the United States Grand Prix.

The build-up continues…

This time last year, the United States Grand Prix arrived with the same format as this year — and saw the predictable domination of one man across both races.

Max Verstappen cruised to sprint-race victory from pole, and it was a similar procession for the eventual champion world champion in the grand prix.

In fact, the most notable event was Lewis Hamilton (second) and Charles Leclerc (sixth) being disqualified after the race because of technical infringements with their cars.

That promoted Logan Sergeant into the top 10, earning the American driver his first and only drivers’ championship point ahead of being dropped following this season’s Netherlands Grand Prix.