The pit lane is open and the Ferraris and the McLaren of Lando Norris take to the track, as the festivities continue on the grid for the thousands of fans who are packed inside. The view from the top of the tower at COTA is glorious, but it does look quite windy up there.

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Oscar Piastri has arrived in the paddock looking his usual relexed self but the Australian will be well aware of the task that's in front of him in Austin today.

Singapore's first-lap incident with team-mate Lando Norris is fresh in the memory, and zero points scored in the sprint and sixth in qualifying has put the Australian on the backfoot before lights out.

Piastri was last on the podium - and won - in Zandvoort and has struggled to be on the pace so far this weekend. He said his McLaren was "a little bit unpredictable" during his sixth place in qualifying, adding he "didn't really feel terribly comfortable".

If Piastri finishes his race in sixth and Verstappen wins, the Red Bull driver will only be 38 points behind him heading to Mexico next weekend.

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Cast your minds back to the start of August when it was still warm and light outside and to the Hungarian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen finished ninth at the Hungaroring and while he was still third in the championship, he was 97 points off leader Oscar Piastri and 88 points adrift of second-placed Lando Norris. Was the fifth consecutive title dream over? It seemed so.

Fast forward to the autumn, however, and now the Dutchman's name has been seriously added to the championship talk. He finished second in Zandvoort and Singapore and took back-to-back victories in Monza and Azerbaijan, taking 41 points out of Piastri in the past three races.

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Fresh from taking pole position - and the win - in the fourth sprint event of the seaon, Max Verstappen again edged out his rivals to claim pole for today's main grand prix, beating Lando Norris by 0.291 seconds, with Charles Leclerc taking third spot for Ferrari.

Verstappen failed to complete his final run because he was sent out too late to get around in time to start a last lap before the chequered flag. But that didn't matter, as Norris, despite an excellent lap that pipped Leclerc to the front row by 0.006s, couldn't snatch pole away from the Dutchman.

The four-time world champion commented the Red Bull was feeling "good", and "every segment the car was very strong" in qualifying, which was a positive following some issues at the start of the weekend.

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Max Verstappen on pole positon, Lando Norris alongside him on the front row and Charles Leclerc in third - but will the order stay that way by the time the chequered flag falls on the United States Grand Prix?

Turn One on the opening lap was the danger zone during yesterday's sprint, so could we see a more cautious approach on the steep climb to the first corner this time around? Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso were also caught up in the drama, while Alonso's Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll tried a risky lunge to pass the Haas of Esteban Ocon at the same spot.

Stroll has been handed a five-place grid penalty for the move which took both drviers out, but as he was knocked in Q1 on Saturday, it doesn't really impact the frontrunners.

Let us know how you're feeling and what you think Austin has in store tonight by sending us a message on X via #bbcf1 or email f1@bbc.co.uk.

There was so much to digest from yesterday's events at the Circuit of the Americas, I think a podcast is needed. Jennie Gow, Harry Benjamin and Christian Hewgill discus all the big talking points from the sprint race and qualifying, so have a listen as we go along.

Lorraine McKenna
BBC Sport Journalist

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Hello, folks. Sunday is just getting started on the other side of the pond so we should be in for a night-time treat if yesterday's track action was anything to go by.

The United States Grand Prix starts at 20:00 BST.

The drivers' championship has become even more interesting after Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were taken out of the running early doors in the sprint. And now Max Verstappen will again lead the charge from the front of the pack for today's 56-lap race, with Norris alongside him, but with Piastri out of the initial scrap down in sixth.

Australian Piastri has to go up against Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari and the Mercedes of George Russell before he can challenge for a podium place at the Circuit of the Americas.

First things first: Get a load of this drivers' parade. Monster truck-tastic!

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