On lap five and we have two men out already. Romain Grosjean started eighth, but his race only lasts a few laps. He is the second retirement after Fernando Alonso.

A quick reminder...

Raikkonen gets past Lewis Hamilton off the start. There is chaos further back as Lance Stroll spins Fernando Alonso around.

Sebastian Vettel starts fifth, gets past Daniel Ricciardo into fourth, but then the German loses it and spins, dropping to 15th. He is now 10th.

Disaster for McLaren and for Fernando Alonso, he is sent spinning by Lance Stroll and the damage is too bad for them to continue.

"These guys are impossible to race with," says Alonso over the team radio.

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live

Kimi Raikkonen got a great start on the gripper tyres, Hamilton tried to push back, but Raikkonen was having none of it.

It's the first time he's gained a place on the opening lap for nearly two years, but his Ferrari team-mate has dropped the ball.

Image source, EPA

If Lewis Hamilton stays in his current position of second then Vettel needs to be in the top four to deny him the world title. He is currently 13th after dropping down to 15th.

Image source, .

Jack Nicholls
Radio 5 live Formula 1 commentator

But again its a mistake from Sebastian Vettel as he goes spinning toward the back.

To keep his championship hope alive he's going to have to fly up through the field.

Image source, Getty Images

Is that the title done and dusted before lap two? Vettel has dropped down to 15th. As long as Hamilton finishes, surely the title is going to be his now!

Kimi Raikkonen, on the softer tyres, leads us on lap one, Sebastian Vettel moves past Daniel Ricciardo, but, wait, Vettel spins.

Disaster for Sebastian Vettel.

The start Ferrari were dreaming of!

Raikkonen alongside Hamilton, gets the inside line and moves into the lead.

Image source, Getty Images

Here we go!

Good luck, everyone.

The drivers are on their formation lap. We have 56 laps of racing ahead of us. Is today Lewis Hamilton's day?

Image source, .

Hamilton is on the supersofts, Raikkonen, alongside him on the front row, is on a softer compound, the ultrasofts.

Do Ferrari's hopes rely on a lightning start from the Finn?

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Austin

The sun is shining, the skies are big and blue. It’s just as it should be, as one always imagines it is, in Texas on this potentially historic day.

This has quickly become one of the most popular races of the year - it has everything, from a great race track to a wonderful location near a vibrant, welcoming, characterful city - and the paddock has been packed.

Right now, you can barely move outside the huts where Mercedes and Ferrari are based, and the atmosphere is electric. There’s huge anticipation. Can Hamilton clinch a fifth world title? Will Raikkonen drive to help Vettel? And what does that mean? Can Bottas be the perfect wingman for Hamilton again? Time to saddle up for a race that could be remembered for generations to come.

Time for our main man Andrew Benson to sum things up perfectly...

A reminder of how we start...

Image source, .

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Austin

Watch out for Pierre Gasly as he attempts to come through the field in the Toro Rosso. The Frenchman has shown strong pace all weekend and was seventh fastest in first qualifying, after which Toro Rosso stopped trying because they knew they would be starting from the back of the grid because of engine penalties.

Toro Rosso took off the new front wing they brought to Austin because they had not had enough time to optimise it, so Gasly said that in the end his car was pretty much in the same spec as team-mate Brendon Hartley’s, who was significantly slower.

Both have been boosted by the new Honda engine introduced in Japan, which is said to be a pretty dramatic step forward, and Red Bull are already licking their lips about running the Honda next season, with the caveat that it is clearly still nowhere near reliable enough.

Five minutes to go after a rousing version of the American national anthem. Don't go anywhere. Excited? Absolutely.