Key events
Circle 66/71: The lead is less than 4 seconds, but Karun Chandhok believes it is a manageable decline, partly caused by the backmarkers.
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Circle 64/71: Russell still leads by 4.6 seconds. Antonelli is 3.4 behind Verstappen.
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Circle 63/71: In general, the situation has calmed down. Rain is sure to shake it all up.
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Updated at 10:21 a.m. ET.
Circle 61/71: George Russell’s chances are diminishing as he keeps Verstappen at a safe distance for now. He hasn’t won a race since opening in Australia.
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Updated at 10:18 a.m. ET.
Circle 59/71: Lando Norris overtakes Leclerc. From P2 to P8. However, he has a 46-second advantage over Lawson in ninth place.
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Circle 58/71: Russell passed by and lost almost a second. He remains the favourite, but you can hear the smile in Laurent Mekis’s voice when the Red Bull boss says Verstappen is running an “amazing race”.
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Circle 56/71: Hamilton, in fifth, loses to Piastri. Hajjar then takes on Leclerc and the Monegasque is sounded off for a comment about his tyres.
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Circle 54/71: Bernie Collins on radar: It’s raining 10 miles away. This can be difficult.
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Circle 53/71: Norris, flagged for a problem in the pit lane, exited close to Colapinto.
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Circle 52/71: VSK. Free column.
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Updated at 10:08 a.m. ET.
Circle 51/71: Antonelli makes a pit stop, so Russell gets ahead of Verstappen. Antonelli comes out third, 4.6 seconds behind Verstappen.
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Circle 50/71: The real-time odds shifted in Russell’s favor.
The odds are in George Russell’s favor. Photograph: Leonhard Voeger/ReutersShare
Updated at 10:13 a.m. ET.
Circle 49/71: Verstappen pits. Antonelli is in the lead, Russell is in second and Verstappen is back in third.
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Circle 48/71: Piastri overtakes Leclerc. McLaren is doing well against Ferrari there.
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Circle 48/71: Norris is on the spot, without a single stop. Hamilton moved up to sixth place.
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Circle 47/71: Russell is strategizing about the cars around him, says Bernie Collins, hoping Antonelli will come into the pits and attract Verstappen. Can Antonelli keep going long enough to finish on soft?
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Circle 46/71: Norris was told to keep moving. Can he handle one stop with enough pace.
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Circle 45/71: So Verstappen is ahead of Antonelli, both with one stop, then Russell made two, Norris one, Leclerc and Piastri two, Hamilton three.
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Updated at 9:58 a.m. ET.
Circle 44/71: Mercedes now enters Russell’s stop. 2.3 sec. Red Bull doesn’t want to buy Verstappen.
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Circle 43/71: Piastri and the Ferrari pit! No changes are ok.
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Circle 42/71: Alonso received a 5-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He is running 19th, the last man on the track.
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Circle 41/71: Antonelli is closer to Verstappen, but not as much as the Dutchman is to Russell.
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Circle 40/71: Russell got stuck at the hairpin and lost a lot of time, causing Verstappen to close out. Regardless, the live betting odds make Red Bull the favourite.
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Updated at 9:52 a.m. ET.
Circle 37/71: Piastri hits Leclerc’s tires, goes wide, then Hamilton passes his teammate. The Monegasque started on the front row and is now in the pits. He lost part of his front wing.
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37/71: It looks like Russell made a mistake and now Verstappen sees it. There are now 2.4 seconds between them.
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Circle 36/71: Can Antonelli help Russell by putting pressure on Verstappen? This is not true: between the second and third there are 8 seconds.
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Circle 35/71: Hamilton returned to race mode after his battery cooled and gained a half-second lead over Piastri.
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Circle 34/71: Verstappen is said to have more tire choice than Russell and therefore has a potential advantage. What a win it would be at Red Bull’s home track.
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Circle 33/71: Ferrari was worried about Hamilton’s temperature. He is dissatisfied with the instructions because he no longer has enough energy.
Lewis Hamilton on the track. Photograph: Stephen Tee/LAT ImagesShare
Updated at 9:46 a.m. EST.
Circle 32/71: Hajjar was by far Verstappen’s fastest teammate in a long time, but you can see the difference in the way Hamilton was able to beat the Frenchman while the Dutchman overtook the Briton.
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Circle 30/71: Antonelli easily passes Leclerc, and Hamilton passes Hajjar.
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Circle 30/71: Leclerc defends himself against Antonelli. How long can he hold it off?
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Circle 28/71: VSC is over and Russell has a 4.9 second lead over Verstappen. Leclerc is third, Antonelli wins from fourth. Piastri, Hajjar, Hamilton, Norris, Lindblad and Lawson rounded out the top ten.
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Circle 27/71: Antonelli is getting worse due to problems with breaks. He was already heading to the pits before Sainz stopped, so it was just bad luck and not a bad sign.
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Circle 26/71: No one else can enter as Sainz is pushed into the pit lane.
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Lap 25.71: Ferrari invites Hamilton and he returns sixth. It’s good to use VSC.
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Circle 24/71: Laurent Mekies, Red Bull’s team principal, is pleased with the progress but has doubts about whether they can challenge Russell. Antonelli comes out under yellow after Sainz stops on the main straight. But then the virtual safety car comes out and Antonelli gives way to Leclerc.
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Lap 23/71: Russell has a 3.3 second advantage over Verstappen. By the way, Hamilton was acquitted of previous incidents.
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Lap 22/71: We return to the Hamilton-Verstappen duel, the pair switch places and then Red Bull seals it.
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Lap 22/71: Norris achieved his goal.
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21/71: Norris said he’s not participating yet, but he’s not happy. He has no pace.
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Lap 20/71: Russell makes his pit stop with 2.3 seconds remaining and rejoins in third, behind Antonelli and Norris.
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Lap 19/71: Hamilton made it through the pits successfully and is slightly ahead of Verstappen.
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Lap 19/71: Verstappen pits – 2.4 sec. Russell and Antonelli pass.
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Lap 18/71: Hamilton checks his speed and is told that he is faster than Leclerc. It ranks seventh in terms of clean air.
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Lap 17/71: George Russell, speaking to David Croft, the “tire talker”, wonders about the single stop.
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Lap 16/71: The stewards note that Hamilton may displace Verstappen. Karun Chandhok thinks everything is fine.
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Updated at 9:22 a.m. ET.
Lap 15/71: Verstappen was faster than him, but not as fast as Hamilton on the new tyres. Decisions, decisions.
General view: McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in action during the race. Photograph: Lisa Leitner/ReutersShare
Updated at 9:23 a.m. ET.