F1 US GP Live Commentary and Updates - Sprint Qualifying

Colapinto is on a lap now and has set a decent middle sector, as it proves good enough for 11th overall.

Piastri is in trouble for now but crosses the line to jump to seventh.

Both Red Bulls run for a second lap on this set of tyres after two cool-down laps - Verstappen goes to third.

Here's Perez, that's seventh. Will that be good enough? It's at least a recovery and it puts Colapinto into the drop zone.

Ocon, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Zhou and Perez are in trouble entering the final three minutes.

Hamilton is the latest to pop into top spot - a 1m33.840s the new benchmark.

Russell is fifth, Magnussen sixth, Alonso, Stroll, Tsunoda and Verstappen round out the top 10.

Norris comes across the line to go fastest and the first into the 1m33s, two-tenths faster than Sainz.

But then Leclerc goes 0.023s faster at the top of the standings. Piastri is almost a second down and in 11th.

Well this is interesting. Magnussen goes fastest, with Tsunoda into second, Lawson fourth and Gasly fifth.

Big names to come but this is already scrambled.

Perez with a much better effort than in practice as he goes a tenth behind Verstappen - but that's deleted for track limits at T9.

Here's the benchmark from the three-time champion - a 1m34.698s.

That's 1.3s faster than last year's SQ pole time.

Verstappen's Red Bull looks planted through the first sector and he gets a nice tow from a Williams down the long back straight. 

He has had the purple first sector taken from him however...

Verstappen leads the queue onto the circuit with all cars on mediums, as required by the regulations.

Track temp is up at 35 degrees, but there are now clouds in the sky. They could play a part in tyre performance at some point across the next 40 minutes or so.

Got it? Good! Because the drivers are getting into their cars and we are almost ready for the lights to turn green!

Let's turn our attention to Sprint quali then and, being as it's been a while since the last, a quick reminder of how it works.

It's a short version of the usual qualifying format, with the results determining the grid for tomorrow's Sprint. That now takes place ahead of qualifying proper, meaning a separate parc ferme window can exist.

McLaren was itself subject to technical controversy with its 'mini-DRS' rear wing in Azerbaijan and after making initial changes, more have followed...

And Brown didn't stop there, taking aim at Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko over comments made on Norris's mindset in the title race.

Full story here.

Red Bull demonstrated its controversial device to adjust the bib height to FIA scrutineers after practice, with a rather extravagant wrench used to do so. But this may have legs throughout the weekend with McLaren and Zak Brown making noise.

Ferrari took a 1-2 in the sole practice for the weekend with Sainz ahead of Leclerc. But the noise in Austin has been around front bib trays...

Hello and welcome back to live coverage of the United States Grand Prix weekend. 

Sprint Qualifying is just around the corner, but first let's get caught up on what's been going on after practice.