United States Grand Prix practice one: Formula One free tips & TV details

Where to watch

Sky Sports F1, 4pm & 8pm Friday

Best bet

C Leclerc fastest in practice one
1pt 100-30 Hills
Back this tip with William Hill

Practice preview

Lewis Hamilton is set to secure his sixth F1 world championship in Texas on Sunday. The British driver needs to score just four points - equivalent to an eighth-place finish - to clinch the crown even if his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas wins the race.

And there are few tracks he would rather be at in this situation. Hamilton has won five of the seven US races since the event was reinstated in 2012 - he finished third and fourth in the other two.

He is 15-8 favourite to seal it with a victory, just ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at 2-1 and Sebastian Vettel at 7-2.

Hamilton is a bigger price at 3-1 to go fastest in the first practice session, as he did in Mexico last week, with Leclerc, Vettel and Max Verstappen all 7-2 or shorter.

Bottas has never really shone in Austin - he has finished fifth there in both his races for Mercedes.

Ferrari have taken pole at the last six races and while things have not gone their way on Sundays, they are capable of making another fast start to the weekend.

Leclerc made a good impression on his first visit to the track with the struggling Sauber last year, qualifying an impressive ninth, and he looks worth backing to get out of the blocks quickly.

Track guide

Venue Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas
Number of laps 56
Lap length 5.516km
Lap record 1.37.392 L Hamilton (Mercedes) 2018
Schedule – practice one 4pm today; ­practice two 8pm; practice three 6pm tomorrow; qualifying 9pm tomorrow; race 7.10pm Sunday.
TV All live on Sky Sports F1
Circuit characteristics The layout is made up of reproductions of some of the greatest corners from circuits around the world and there are extreme undulations.
DRS zone The pits straight and before turn 12
Last five years (grid) K Raikkonen (2), L Hamilton (1), L Hamilton (1), L Hamilton (2), L Hamilton (2)
Last year Kimi Raikkonen took the lead into the first corner from second on the grid, then made a one-stop strategy work for him to take victory for Ferrari.
2018 pole L Hamilton, 1.32.237
2018 fastest lap L Hamilton, 1.37.392 on lap 40
2018 classified finishers 16/20
Reason for retirements Collision (3), mechanical (1)
Weather A dry weekend, but sunnier today turning cloudier
tomorrow and on Sunday. High 19C.

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