Formula One: Charles Leclerc wins the United States Grand Prix – live

Rest of the top ten.

• 6. Russell

• 7. Perez

• 8. Hulkenberg

• 9. Lawson

• 10. Colapinto

Interesting take.

US GP top five

• 1. Charles Leclerc

• 2. Carlos Sainz

• 3 Max Verstappen

• 4. Lando Norris

• 5. Oscar Piastri

“A hard race,” says Verstappen, Christian Horner offering him credit for getting a podium finish. He’s still complaining about Norris, who is aghast at the five-seconds and then suggests he should have dropped behind and then gone again.

Charles Leclerc wins the US GP

55/56 Leclerc’s progress to winning has been serene. Ocon puts in a fastest lap to steal a vital point from one of the contenders. Red Bull say Norris has gone over his track limits. That will mean he drops down.

54/56 Norris was off the track but Verstappen gave him nowhere to go. The stewards are looking. Five-seconds or ten? Or none? Verstappen is raging. Again.

53/56 One for the stewards, and one for the VAR. Both drivers plead innocence to their teams. And while that continues, they almost come to blows again.

52/56 It briefly seems as if Norris can get past, the crowd roars, but Verstappen always seems to find a way to power away from the bends. Verstappen forces Norris off, but Norris comes back and goes ahead.

51/56 Verstappen is schooling Norris in defensive tactics. Norris is going right at it, to his credit.

50/56 Norris needs to take more risks but his car doesn’t quite have the purchase. As Verstappen seems to falter, so does he.

49/56 Leclerc clears backmarkers to stay away from Sainz. Norris keeps seeing a gap and then finds it closed off. Bottas is a backmarker in the way, but steps aside.

48/56 Franco Colapinto has set the fastest lap in the Williams. Good to have someone like him around. Norris and Verstappen continue in their duel. Verstappen maintains the racing line.

47/56 Norris keeps going, knocking on the door. What a race, what driving from Verstappen. Norris pecking away, but not getting it done on this lap.

46/56 Norris getting closer. Can DRS be engaged? Verstappen throwing everything at it. The gap is down to mere metres.

45/56 This is racing now. Norris tries to edge closer. Verstappen is forced to be defensive. Russell goes up to seventh, and now gives chase to Perez.

44/56 Here comes the battle between Norris and Verstappen. He tries to claw back some of the 54-point lead the champion has.

43/56 The McLaren garage look on intently as their man Norris chases down Verstappen. Russell sets a fastest lap, and looks on course to score points from the pit lane.

42/56 Tsunoda spun, but not off, he’s down in 14th. Way up ahead, Norris is chasing down Verstappen, just 1.4 seconds between them.

41/56 Russell pits and takes on that five-second penalty, and he comes out eighth. Franco Colapinto and Magnussen go off on a battle, but the Argentine holds him off. This is a fine battle.

40/56 Charles Leclerc sets a new fastest lap just when it seemed Sainz might fancy giving chase. Franco Colapinto is the last to pit, on lap 40. He comes out ahead of Magnussen in 12th.

39/56 After that shoddy start, Norris has chance to make amends by passing Verstappen. Magnussen, back to 13th, was demanded to pit. Liam Lawson is in 10th. He’s full of racing.

38/56 Norris has the fastest lap, and is under three seconds short of Verstappen. He can see his target.

37/56 Liam Lawson pits, and is geared up to battle for a top ten place. He’s ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, his teammate. He’s in 12th.

36/56 Verstappen: “These tyres are no good. I can’t brake, I can’t do anything.” He’s raging. The calm of pre-race is forgotten.

35/56 Franco Colapinto is keeping Perez at bay. It’s not gone well for Perez, this season. Norris’s speed is coming to the fore. He’s flying along, so much quicker than Verstappen. With much of the race to go. 20 laps, in fact.

34/56 There’s 11 seconds between the top three now. Leclerc and Sainz in command here. Their pace is too much for the Red Bull today. Verstappen will have to wait longer for that first win since June.

33/56 Oscar Piastri’s pit is slow. But the plan is to be quick at the end of the race when the fuel load is far lower.

32/56 “Time to pit,” says Zach from McLaren. Norris goes in, and Leclerc takes the lead. Piastri will stay out until the next pit, presumably. Norris is in fifth, Russell sixth (but with a five second penalty) and the flying Kiwi, Lawson is in seventh.

31/56 Until those McLarens pit, the race will not take fullest shape. Piastri is being chased by Leclerc, who isn’t prepared to wait for his opponent to pit. He passes with ease, and takes second. Norris’s pit is imminent.

30/56 Norris is told his team don’t want to pull the trigger too early. “A Germany situation,” apparently. Some odd code words being used.

29/56 “More phase 1 brake release,” Ferrari tells a dumbfounded Sainz.

28/56 Norris and Piastri are making hay on their tyres, lapping as quick as Verstappen. But when to pit?

27/56 Leclerc goes into the pits and on the hard tyres, and will come out behind the McLarens and ahead of Sainz. They are yet to pit. Is this a one-stop strategy? It looks like it from Ferrari.

26/56 Lando Norris was catching up Verstappen, who pits, and then Sainz goes ahead of him into fourth. The undercut leaves Leclerc leading with McLaren, yet to pit, ahead of Sainz. Norris is motoring nicely.

25/56 “My tyres are really bad now,” says Verstappen. Ferrari are in a position to pull a fast on him.

24/56 Sainz, on those hard tyres, sets off on the fastest lap so far.

23/56 Franco Colapinto, the youngster, overtakes Fernando Alonso, the veteran. McLaren are trying to work out their pace on the tyres in chasing down Verstappen. Leclerc says “I don’t want to be under pressure” in regards to Ferrari’s strategy.

22/56 Sainz goes in, putting hard tyres on his Ferrari. He comes out in fifth, ahead of Perez. The McLarens are ahead in his road to chasing down Verstappen.

21/56 Most of the action is down the field, so serene has been Leclerc’s progress since that start.

20/56 Is a pit undercut in the offing? Sainz might be attempting it with Verstappen who is sluggish on his current tyres, and with that mystery problem.