The offending bag looks to have been cleared from George Russell's car and now the Mercedes driver is two seconds clear of the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

Lewis Hamilton is up to ninth from 10th and is now weighing up a move on Oscar Piastri. The young Australian keeps his cool against the seven-time world champion and holds on tight to that eighth place - for now....

Image source, Getty Images

"Lawson moving in a straight line when I was slipstreaming. You know he was reacting."

Kevin Magnussen was annoyed by Liam Lawson's tactics on their opening lap battle but the stewards have decided to take no further action. Carry on, lads.

The wind has caused some litter to invade the track. Has a plastic bag found its way onto George Russell's Mercedes? Quite possibly. The start from Charles Leclerc was fantastic. The Monegasque man took the inside line and catapulted through on Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz to gain two places off the line.

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

I've just spotted that George Russell has debris of some sort on his left-hand side of the car.

The fastest lap is being clocked by Charles Leclerc and the Ferrari driver is trying his best to snatch the lead from the Mercedes of George Russell. The Briton manages to fight off the first attack from the Monegasque driver but this could be a long night for Russell.

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen has overtaken Pierre Gasly for fourth. Lando Norris is still in sixth place.

Image source, Getty Images

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

I don't think he [Pierre Gasly] is going to have the pace to keep Max Verstappen behind.

Pierre's job is to make sure he gets those exits because he hasn't got the performance through the corners compared to the Red Bull that is behind him, but so far he's doing a good job.

Race control have noted that incident between Liam Lawson and Kevin Magnussen, plus a tussle between Lawson and the Sauber of Zhou Guanyu.

George Russell leads, Charles Leclerc is up to second and Carlos Sainz sits third.

Image source, Getty Images

Liam Lawson and Kevin Magnussen are fighting hard in the RB and Haas. The New Zealander is up to 13th place from his P15 starting position, while Dane Magnussen has fallen three places.

Max Verstappen is looking to make a move on Pierre Gasly, who is now fourth, but the Dutchman doesn't need any wild moments so early on in this 50-lap race.

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Oscar Piastri looks like he may have a little bit of damage, he got shuffled out down the pack but he's managed to keep a couple of positions at least. Lando Norris is all over the back of Max Verstappen.

Rosanna Tennant
5 Live F1 reporter in Las Vegas

The fans are starting to fill the grandstand alongside the start-finish straight.

Will Max Verstappen cash out in Sin City?

George Russell stays ahead of the pack going into Turn One and leads from pole. Charles Leclerc has climbed up to second - passing Pierre Gasly and his Ferrari team-mate Carlso Sainz in the process.

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris stay in fifth and sixth.

Image source, Getty Images

if you're just joining us this morning, hello! Franco Colapinto is starting from the pit lane for Williams after his heavy crash in qualifying yesterday. Cars are starting to line up. Here we go.

It's windier tonight in Vegas...

Image source, Getty Images

Rosanna Tennant
5 Live F1 reporter in Las Vegas

On the weather being warmer and a potential benefit, McLaren boss Zak Brown spoke to Rosanna Tennant: "A little more heat helps, I wouldn't classify that it's hot but it's certainly warmer than the last few days so that will help us out a little bit."

On Lando Norris: "[I've just said] To keep doing what he's been doing all year, that's all he can do. He can't control Max's race, only his own, he's had a fantastic year."

Image source, Getty Images

In the constructors' championship, the contest is still alive as we reach the home straight of the 2024 campaign.

McLaren hold a 36-point advantage over second-placed Ferrari at the top of the standings, with Red Bull sitting in third, 49 points off the leaders.

Alpine's incredible Sunday in Brazil with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly both on the podium has lifted the French team from ninth up to sixth, three points ahead of Haas and five points clear of RB.

Can Pierre Gasly, starting in the top three today, bring home another jackpot of points for Alpine?

The majority of the field have opted for the medium tyres to start on and keep your eyes peeled on Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas and Franco Colapinto - all three are hard compound runners early doors. Fernando Alonso is the outlier on a set of softs for Aston Martin.

Image source, Getty Images

Max Verstappen hadn't recorded a win in 10 races until his superb soggy victory in Sao Paulo last time out. The jump from 17th on the grid to first on the podium has set him up perfectly for today's Vegas extravaganza.

While Verstappen leads Lando Norris by 62 points, Charles Leclerc in third is 24 points behind the McLaren driver in the battle for second place.

A nice little scrap is brewing between Mercedes team-mates George Russell and Lewis Hamilton too. The pair are only separated by two points in the fight for sixth spot, with Russell on pole today and Hamilton down in 10th.

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

[Cold-graining] is so crucial to the performance of the car, you've got to heat the tyre from inside out, you need to raise the core temperature before you raise the surface temperature and that's difficult when you are at a track with low track temperatures.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Las Vegas

Image source, Pirelli 2024

There’s lots of unpredictability heading into the Las Vegas Grand Prix from a strategy perspective. It’s a one-stop focused on the medium and hard tyres; that much seems certain, impact of safety cars aside.

But choosing the softer of the two tyres for the start is not necessarily the no-brainer it normally is, as the medium is quite weak, and will go off quite soon. That means it will be hard to build a gap to the drivers who choose the hard, to drop into after a stop. And while those starting on the medium will have a target stop lap, will the tyres make it that far? At the same time, the hard is likely to mean losing positions off the line and on the first lap, and can you get them back?

Rosanna Tennant
5 Live F1 reporter in Las Vegas

Image source, Getty Images

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner spoke to Rosanna Tennant: "Anything is possible, it's our first match point, it would be nice to get the job done in Vegas."

On if Max Verstappen starting down in fifth is a challenge: "It's a track you can overtake at so I think it's going to be a busy race and if it's anything like last year's race it's a thriller.

"I think he [Verstappen] knows the objective today and he will drive accordingly to get the best out of the car, but it's a bit warmer and it's a lot windier and that could have a big effect on our these cars are behaving.

"The cars react to the wind and with it being warmer the tyres have this graining in the cold, maybe it won't be such a factor now."