McLaren calls in Lando Norris, and he is also on the hard tyre.

It was a slow stop, with Norris stationary for 4.4 seconds.

But Norris is able to come out comfortably ahead of Piastri, as the Australian was held up in some traffic.

The pit stops are coming thick and fast now.

Ferrari calls in Leclerc and puts on mediums.

Piastri, after having a little battle with a charging Max Verstappen, comes in as well. It was a stunning stop from McLaren, just 2.1 seconds stopped.

Piastri has a set of hards on. He will be going to the end, it appears.

Hamilton goes from softs to mediums.

He does not have to come in again (like Verstappen must because he has not used two different compounds).

But it is hard to see these mediums lasting until the end.

OK. Red Bull will be doing a two-stop.

That's interesting.

Max Verstappen has been called in after just 13 laps. Verstappen started on soft tyres, and they have put on another set of soft tyres.

That means they absolutely have to stop again.

It is all nice and settled in Texas, but that won't last for long.

The drivers have settled into a groove, but action at COTA usually happens when the tyres are old and struggling.

Kimi Antonelli is driving nicely, holding a lead of around 2.5 seconds to Max Verstappen.

Then it is the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

Red Bull's Isack Hadjar is fifth, Mercedes' George Russell is sixth but has a five-second penalty.

Lando Norris is seventh after passing Oscar Piastri. Norris has pulled out a 3.6-second gap to Piastri since being ordered by the team to overtake.

George Russell has been handed a 5-second penalty by the stewards for leaving the track and gaining an advantage on the opening lap.

Russell will serve this during his first pit stop.

Oscar Piastri has just been passed by Lando Norris for seventh place.

That was a call by the McLaren team. They told Oscar to let Norris through because he is on a different strategy.

Prior to this, Norris was telling his team that he had more pace than his Australian teammate.

"I'm being held up now."

Kimi Antonelli holds a very nice lead.

This has been the perfect start for the Mercedes driver.

Meanwhile, George Russell is now under investigation for leaving the track at turn 13 and gaining an advantage.

George Russell is running sixth, ahead of Australian Oscar Piastri.

Russell went off the track on the first lap, and he has been noted for potentially gaining an advantage by leaving the circuit.

We will keep an eye on that.

McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have held their grid positions in the opening moments.

Piastri is seventh, harassing Mercedes driver George Russell ahead.

Just behind Piastri is Norris, who is trying to find his way by his teammate.

Then there is a gap to ninth-placed Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls).

There are marshals on track to clear some debris.

The VSC lasts about 20 seconds, and we are racing again.

Brilliant from Kimi Antonelli.

There is no battle into turn one, the young Italian flies off the line and holds the lead.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc is up to second, and I think he may have made contact with teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Max Verstappen has dropped to third, and his teammate Isack Hadjar drops from third to fifth.

But Verstappen then flies back down the straight and retakes second place.

The drivers are off on the formation lap.

Let's see what tyres each driver has on their car.

Pole sitter Kimi Antonelli is going to start on the medium, but his nearest rivals ( Verstappen, Hadjar, Leclerc, Hamilton) are on softs.

George Russell, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are on the mediums.

Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas and Alpine's Franco Colapinto are on the hards.

S — soft; M — medium; H — hard

Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes M

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing S

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing S

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari S

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari S

George Russell, Mercedes M

Oscar Piastri, McLaren M

Lando Norris, McLaren M

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls S

Pierre Gasly, Alpine S

Nico Hulkenberg, Audi S

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin S

Oliver Bearman, Haas S

Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls S

Esteban Ocon, Haas S

Carlos Sainz, Williams S

Alexander Albon, Williams S

Sergio Perez, Cadillac S

Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac H

Franco Colapinto, Alpine H

Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi S

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin M

Kimi Antonelli can win the F1 drivers' championship today in Austin, Texas.

The F1 drivers' championship has been sealed nine times in the United States, starting with Australia's Jack Brabham.

• 1959: Jack Brabham at Sebring
• 1970: Jochen Rindt at Watkins Glen
• 1974: Emerson Fittipaldi at Watkins Glen
• 1977: Niki Lauda at Watkins Glen
  
• 1981: Nelson Piquet at Caesars Palace
• 1982: Keke Rosberg at Caesars Palace
• 2015: Lewis Hamilton at COTA
• 2019: Lewis Hamilton at COTA
• 2024: Max Verstappen at Las Vegas Strip Circuit

Let's talk about this wonderful track — Circuit of the Americas.

COTA starts with a climb to a fabulous first corner, which can start three-wide, but the track narrows quickly.

(F1)

After a terrific sequence of corners, the best overtaking zone on the track comes at turn 12, at the end of the back straight.

Another overtaking chance comes at turn 15. There could be some fun battles between turns 12 and 15 this morning.

The overtake detection marker is at the end of the final corner of the lap, lap 20.

The front and back straights are where drivers can use Straight Mode.

The simulations from tyre manufacturer Pirelli show that the one-stop appears to be the best option today.

(F1)

Either starting on the soft or medium, then changing to the hard compound, is the optimal strategy.

The pit window on those strategies will be between laps 20-27.

If there is higher tyre degradation than expected, then a two-stop going soft-medium-soft is an option, albeit sub-optimal.

Drivers' championship standings

1: 340 — Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

2: 238 — George Russell, Mercedes

3: 229 — Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

4: 221 — Max Verstappen, Red Bull

5: 215 — Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

6: 201 — Lando Norris, McLaren

7: 138 — Oscar Piastri, McLaren

8: 97 — Isack Hadjar, Red Bull

9: 75 — Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls/Red Bull

10: 41 — Pierre Gasly, Alpine

11: 38 — Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls

12: 27 — Franco Colapinto, Alpine

13: 23 — Oliver Bearman, Haas

14: 13 — Nico Hülkenberg, Audi

15: 10 — Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi

16: 7 — Esteban Ocon, Haas

17: 7 — Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin

18: 7 — Carlos Sainz, Williams

19: 5 — Alex Albon, Williams

20: 1 — Yuki Tsunoda, Racing Bulls

21: 0 — Lance Stroll, Aston Martin

22: 0 — Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac

23: 0 — Sergio Pérez, Cadillac

Constructors' championship standings

1: 578 — Mercedes

2: 444 — Ferrari

3: 339 — McLaren

4: 332 — Red Bull

5: 100 — Racing Bulls

6: 68 — Alpine

7: 30 — Haas

8: 23 — Audi

9: 12 — Williams

10: 7 — Aston Martin

11: 0 — Cadillac

(Reuters)

The equation for Kimi Antonelli is very simple: win and hope for other results.

Antonelli enters this morning's grand prix on 340 points, 102 more than teammate George Russell and 111 ahead of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.

The Italian needs to have a lead of 125 points or more to seal the drivers' championship at the United States Grand Prix.

That will happen if Antonelli wins the race, Russell finishes ninth or worse, and Hamilton finishes fifth or worse.

Need a refresh on how qualifying went yesterday.

Tap the link below and get up to speed.

Here is when the F1 United States Grand Prix begins in your state or territory.

• 7am AEDT: NSW, Victoria, ACT, Tasmania
• 6:30am: ACDT: South Australia
• 6am AEST: Queensland
• 5:30am ACST: Northern Territory
• 4am AWST: Western Australia

Howdy — good morning, Australia.

Welcome back to ABC Sport's live digital coverage of the 2026 Formula 1 championship season.

This morning's United States Grand Prix in Texas has the potential to be historic.

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli has the chance to seal the drivers' championship with a win, and a few other results.

Be part of the conversation, and let me know your thoughts on all things F1, in the comment section.