Celeb spot!published at 19:49 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
Skier Lindsey Vonn celebrated her birthday yesterday and was presented with a cake by the Red Bull team.
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty ImagesSummary
Hamilton wins, Rosberg 2nd, Ricciardo 3rd
Three-time champion wins 50th career race
Raikkonen out after pit stop error
Verstappen out after pitting by mistake
Hulkenberg, Gutierrez out
Celeb spot!published at 19:49 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
Image source, Getty ImagesImage source, Getty ImagesPostpublished at 19:48 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
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End of twitter postPostpublished at 19:47 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in AustinLewis Hamilton has talked of knock-on effects from the fuel-system change that was required on his car overnight on Friday after a problem was discovered. This is a small performance deficit. And I do mean small. It is worth 0.5secs over a race distance - so 0.009secs a lap. In that context, quite why Hamilton mentioned it is a mystery.
Postpublished at 19:46 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
Image source, Rex FeaturesNico Rosberg is yet to win this race, but a first place would match the achievement of his boss, Niki Lauda, who won once - in 1975. (Source: Forix)
Ricciardo to have a go at first corner - Hornerpublished at 19:45 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
BBC Radio 5 liveRed Bull team principal Christian Horner hopes Daniel Ricciardo in third on the grid and on the super softs can shock the Mercedes pair in front of him.
Horner said: "Both of our drivers chose the tyres they want to start on and from a team point of view I'm happy as it gives us more options and more flexibility tactically, so let's see.
"It is a long run up the hill to turn one and we have seen Mercedes vulnerable at the start before so if Daniel Ricciardo has a sniff of it, he will have a go."
Postpublished at 19:44 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
Space cowboypublished at 19:44 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
The astronaut Tim Peake was outside BBC Sport HQ in Salford a few days ago, but he's in Austin now. I've just spotted him having a wander on the grid. There's a man who knows how to get a good launch off the pad. Lewis Hamilton should grab a word...
'Nico has to attack'published at 19:41 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
BBC Radio 5 liveMercedes chairman Niki Lauda has been talking to BBC Radio 5 live.
"Nico has to attack, he wants to win, Lewis is crazy anyway so we will see," says Lauda. "He has to get away well today. They will both take off normally."
Caption competitionpublished at 19:40 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
Send us your best efforts #bbcf1, external
Get involved #bbcf1published at 19:39 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
Could we see Capgate part 2?published at 19:38 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
Image source, F1.comYou've got to hand it to Nico Rosberg, he has responded excellently to the disappointment of losing out on the 2015 title to Lewis Hamilton.
After finishing second to Hamilton in Austin last year he has won 12 of the 20 races - the sort of form worthy of winning a title.
I wonder if today he will find a way to gain revenge for capgate - when Hamilton tossed him the second place cap at last year's US GP?
Great shot!published at 19:37 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
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End of twitter postHamilton's bad startspublished at 19:36 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
Image source, BBC SportCould the race be over in 31 minutes time? Lewis Hamilton has had a number of bad starts this season, and he can ill afford another one today...
Anyone know an aerodynamicist?published at 19:35 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Austin
Image source, Getty ImagesFerrari were at a loss to explain how they could qualify 0.3 seconds off a Mercedes in Japan two weeks ago and be more than a second back here in Texas. Part of the problem was two poor laps by Sebastian Vettel, who ended up sixth and 0.2secs behind team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, but it was by no means only that.
“I wasn't happy with either of my Q3 laps and probably pushed a little bit too hard,” Vettel said. “We know that backfires on these tyres, but that's an excuse. I should have done a better job. It's part of the reason I'm not entirely happy but the gap to the cars in front is really what we don't like. We had a good run in the last couple of races, so coming here and seeing we are not as competitive as we thought is not good news.”
There are two issues here - one is Vettel’s slip in form compared to Raikkonen, which some believe is caused by similar issues to his problems in 2014 against Daniel Ricciardo, namely a car that won’t behave as he wants and his reluctance to stop trying to make it do things it won’t; the other is the car’s lack of performance.
Sources close to the team say Ferrari are urgently looking for a top-level aerodynamicist but are finding them all locked down by contracts. Which makes their decision to split with former technical director James Allison in the summer all the more mystifying.
Get involved #bbcf1published at 19:33 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
Postpublished at 19:32 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
BBC Radio 5 liveWe're also live with build up on BBC Radio 5 live. You can listen on the radio and online via this page right now.
Postpublished at 19:31 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
Half-an-hour until the race gets under way. The light at the end of the pit lane turns green and out go the cars onto the circuit.
Postpublished at 19:29 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
A down-to-the-wire thrillerpublished at 19:28 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
Monday marks 40 years to the day since James Hunt beat Niki Lauda to the 1976 world title at the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix.
It was an American who won that race, Mario Andretti, as Hunt finished third while Lauda retired to hand the Briton the title.
Bonus shot of Hunt reclining on his sofa post title win:
Image source, Rex FeaturesThe season so farpublished at 19:25 British Summer Time 23 October 2016
So how have we got to this point?
Check out our fancy graphic that depicts the highs and lows for Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton this season.
The Brit will not be too pleased with those blue circles.
