Summary

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra commentary at top of page (UK only)
United States GP sprint qualifying at 22:30 BST
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz fastest in first practice in Austin
Team-mate Leclerc second, Verstappen third and Norris fourth
Verstappen leads Norris by 52 points in drivers' championship
US GP first of six races to conclude 2024 season

Live Reporting

Lorraine McKenna

Verstappen & Norris third & fourth in first practicepublished at 19:51 British Summer Time
Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Austin
Image source, Getty Images
Title rivals Max Verstappen and Lando Norris ended the only practice session at the United States Grand Prix in third and fourth places.
Carlos Sainz set the pace ahead of Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Sainz was 0.021secs ahead of Leclerc and 0.253secs quicker than Verstappen, whose time was set earlier in the session than those of Ferrari and McLaren when the track would have been slower.
Norris, who starts the weekend 52 points behind Verstappen in the championship, was 0.013secs slower than the Dutchman.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who had a high-speed spin at Turn Four earlier in the session, was fifth, ahead of team-mate George Russell, who himself spun at Turn One.
Read the full report here
Back for sprint qualifying at 22:00 BSTpublished at 19:49 British Summer Time
Image source, Getty Images
Yeehaw. That was a tough first rodeo for some drivers in Texas.
Right then. This is the point when the weekend goes full throttle, with competitive track action now until the shutters come down on Sunday night.
We'll park up, stretch our legs and come back together for sprint qualifying, which sets the grid for tomorrow's sprint race, at 22:00 BST.
See you shortly!
Chequered Flag podcast: US GP previewpublished at 19:47 British Summer Time
While we all take a break before sprint qualifying, have a listen to the Chequered Flag podcast.
Eleanor Oldroyd is joined by the BBC team out in Austin. They debate whether Lando Norris can still catch Max Verstappen and land his first driver's title.
Former Haas boss Gunther Steiner is on the pod to give his take on the Max Verstappen swearing controversy and James Vowles talks Williams' progress since he took over as team principal.
Listen on BBC Sounds here
'Ferrari are going to be really happy'published at 19:45 British Summer Time
Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
I think Ferrari are going to be really happy with that. This is a team that hasn't bought major upgrades when lots of the teams around them have and yet they've managed to unlock some pace that has been missing on occasions in recent rounds.
Really unhappy I would say are the early signs at Mercedes and McLaren are probably somewhere in the middle of that where really you would expect them to be right at the front. They're not there yet.
Image source, Getty Images
And the restpublished at 19:40 British Summer Time
11. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
12. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
13. Liam Lawson (RB)
14. Alex Albon (Williams)
15. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
16. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
17. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
18. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)
19. Franco Colapinto (Williams)
20. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)
Top 10published at 19:38 British Summer Time
1. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) - 1:33.602
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.021
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.253
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.266
5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.306
6. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.361
7. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.491
8. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) +0.494
9. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +0.510
10. Yuki Tsunoda (RB) +0.711
Postpublished at 19:36 British Summer Time
Jennie Gow
F1 pit-lane reporter in Austin
Well, that is it, practice one done! We go straight into sprint qualifying.
That means all the cars go round the circuit, they take to the start line, they do their practice start in a grid slot.
They pick it themselves, sometimes it's luck of the draw in fairness, they go round and then come back into the pit lane.
Chequered flagpublished at 19:34 British Summer Time
That's our lot for practice. The next track action is sprint qualifying.
Ferrari are one and two in this session, with Carlos Sainz the quicker of the pair with a time of 1:33.602 on the softs.
Behind Charles Leclerc in second comes Max Verstappen in third, Lando Norris in fourth and Oscar Piastri completes the top five in fifth.
'Hamilton closing in'published at 19:33 British Summer Time
Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator
It is not smooth sailing so far for the Mercedes camps.
Although, Lewis Hamilton closing in a little bit on his second go, now 0.35 off Carlos Sainz's fastest lap time.
Ferrari on toppublished at 19:32 British Summer Time
The Ferraris are setting the peace in the one and only practice session we'll see this weekend in Austin. Carlos Sainz is carrying a bit more pace than his team-mate Charles Leclerc, leading the way on the timesheets by 0.021 seconds. Leclerc did fall foul of Oscar Piastri's speedy mishap, however, and had to abort his earlier attempt.
Lando Norris is next to cross the line but the title chaser can only manage fourth on the board.
'We're going to see the order'published at 19:32 British Summer Time
Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
Pretty much everybody, bar two cars, have the soft tyres on now, low fuel and this really is this one opportunity to find what your car is going to do when you take the fuel out, when you put the fastest tyres on.
That's exactly the situation it's going to be in when we next get onto track for sprint qualifying.
This is where we're going to start to see the order, genuinely compare from one team to another.
'Verstappen displaced by Sainz'published at 19:30 British Summer Time
Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator
We're now seeing a bit of a flurry, seeing some fast lap times, perhaps some simulations for qualifying runs.
Max Verstappen fastest... I say that, he's just been displaced by Carlos Sainz!
Image source, Getty Images
Postpublished at 19:29 British Summer Time
There was a brief virtual safety car a few moments ago for Oscar Piastri, who missed the pit entry after carrying way too much speed in his McLaren. The Australian dusts himself off and has another a go, which is still a little bit scrappy, but he does leapfrog a few rivals to go third fastest on his soft run.
'I didn't see the point of a fastest lap point'published at 19:28 British Summer Time
Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Austin
It was a gimmick and a fake construct based on a false premise, I think.
The idea was it might give someone a chance to really push and, you know, get some excitement and what have you.
It was a complete misunderstanding of the way Pirelli tyres work in Formula 1.
Sainz beats Verstappen's timepublished at 19:26 British Summer Time
The returning Liam Lawson lifts his RB into the top six with a decent first flyer on the softs. The New Zealander originally jumped up to fourth but was pushed down the order because of Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz's quicker times.
Spaniard Sainz is the fastest car on track now with a time 0.253 seconds better than Max Verstappen, who set his soft time earlier than the rest.
'Lawson needs to categorically beat Tsunoda'published at 19:24 British Summer Time
Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator
Ironically, Max Verstappen has kind of ruined Red Bull's driver academy over the last few years because he's so good that no-one can really compare.
When you're keeping maybe a Tsunoda in your sister team as an average benchmark, then where are you at? It feels like you're floundering.
Lawson does need to categorically beat him.
Hamilton goes second on softspublished at 19:23 British Summer Time
Finally, more cars are emerging onto the circuit on the soft tyre. The TV cameras are following Lewis Hamilton but the rear of that Mercedes is just doing its own thing this practice session. The seven-time world champion completes all 20 corners and goes second quickest, four-and-a-half-tenths away from Max Verstappen's best marker.
'On to the next 100!'published at 19:21 British Summer Time
Alex Albon reaches a milestone in Formula 1 of 100 race starts this weekend and the Williams driver is celebrating with a special piece of memorabilia from his childhood.
"Going back to my roots for my 100th GP with my first ever helmet back in my karting days," Albon posted on social media.
"Still a Valentino Rossi fanboy, and still the same size helmet Onto the next 100!"
Out on track on today, Albon's Williams runs wide at Turn 12 after his car clips the kerb.
Image source, Alex Albon
Image source, Alex Albon
Postpublished at 19:18 British Summer Time
The hard work has begun at Sauber to try and mend Zhou Guanyu's car. Will we see him out for sprint qualifying? The clock is now ticking.
George Russell, meanwhile, is asking his engineer to give him feedback on how the other drivers are tackling the kerb at Turn Nine, particularly on the soft tyre.
Postpublished at 19:16 British Summer Time
The trick to being noticed in the paddock and getting VIP access - and your picture taken with a future Formula 1 star - is just to come dressed as bonkers as possible to any race that isn't Suzuka.
Over at Sauber, Zhou Gunayu is in trouble and tells his pit wall he has "no power". The Chinese driver returns to the safety of the garage for some TLC.
Image source, Getty Images

2024 United States Grand Prix

First Practice

Circuit of the Americas, 18 October 2024

Rank	Driver	Number	Team	Fastest Lap	Laps
1	Carlos Sainz Jnr	55	Ferrari	1:33.602	25
2	Charles Leclerc	16	Ferrari	1:33.623	27
3	Max Verstappen	1	Red Bull	1:33.855	23
4	Lando Norris	4	McLaren	1:33.868	25
5	Oscar Piastri	81	McLaren	1:33.908	26
6	Lewis Hamilton	44	Mercedes	1:33.963	22
7	George Russell	63	Mercedes	1:34.093	27
8	Kevin Magnussen	20	Haas	1:34.096	24
9	Fernando Alonso	14	Aston Martin	1:34.112	24
10	Yuki Tsunoda	22	RB	1:34.313	20
11	Nico Hulkenberg	27	Haas	1:34.364	24
12	Pierre Gasly	10	Alpine	1:34.375	24
13	Liam Lawson	30	RB	1:34.443	28
14	Alexander Albon	23	Williams	1:34.618	26
15	Lance Stroll	18	Aston Martin	1:34.619	24
16	Sergio Perez	11	Red Bull	1:34.638	24
17	Esteban Ocon	31	Alpine	1:34.806	24
18	Valtteri Bottas	77	Sauber	1:35.041	26
19	Franco Colapinto	43	Williams	1:35.248	27
20	Zhou Guanyu	24	Sauber	1:37.219	15