Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Singapore

Image source, Getty Images

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc set the pace from Red Bull's Max Verstappen in first practice at the United States Grand Prix.

Leclerc was 0.084 seconds quicker than Verstappen at the start of the first weekend on which Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli can clinch his first world title.

The Italian was fifth fastest, 0.481secs off the pace, behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Mercedes' George Russell.

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton was sixth ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

Antonelli will win the championship in Austin only if he wins the race and Russell finishes below eighth and Hamilton below fourth.

Read the full report here

Charles Leclerc ends the first hour in Austin quickest, so it's slight advantage to the upgraded Ferrari. Second practice should give us a better idea of who will be in the mix for pole position on Saturday, but certainly Leclerc, four-time COTA winner Max Verstappen and world champion Lando Norris are looking good so far.

We'll take a short break now and then fire the live up again at 21:45 BST for FP2 build-up.

The session goes green at 22:00.

See you in a bit!

In this break between sessions, have a listen to the Chequered Flag team preview the Austin weekend. Rosanna Tennant is joined by Jolyon Palmer, Andrew Benson and Harry Benjamin to assess Kimi Antonelli’s chances of winning the title on Sunday, and we hear from the man himself. Plus, Haas driver Ollie Bearman drops by for a chat about life in F1, his future and his former F2 team-mate Antonelli’s remarkable rise to the top.

11. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

12. Fernando ALonso (Aston Martin)

13. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

14. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)

15. Pierre gasly (Alpine)

16. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

17. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

18. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)

19. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

20. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)

21. Colton Herta (Cadillac)

22. Alex Albon (Williams)

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 1:36.052

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.084

3. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.245

4. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.326

5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.481

6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.503

7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.734

8. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) +0.943

9. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +1.011

10. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +1.257

Charles Leclerc has the medium tyre bolted on for his long run at the end of first practice, but the five cars behind him, including Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton, are sticking with the soft compound as time ticks away.

Alex Albon goes off the track for a brief moment, but it won't matter, the chequered flag is about to fall in Austin.

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 1:36.052

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.084

3. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.245

4. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.326

5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.481

Kimi Antonelli and George Russell are both running Mercedes' latest-specification car at this weekend's United States Grand Prix, as the team continue to try to get to grips with their long-awaited upgrade package.

At Williams, Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon have each put a time on the board after waiting in the Williams garage. But the pair are down at the bottom of the timesheets, Spaniard Sainz the quicker of the two team-mates.

There is not much difference between George Russell and Kimi Antonelli on the soft tyre, and now Briton Russell has headed out on the hard compound with 12 minutes remaining of the session.

Antonelli has a question for his pit wall, though. "Wasn't I meant to go with the hard?" asks the Italian. Engineer Pete Bonnington replies there has been a change of plan, so the soft compound will be staying on his car for now.

Image source, Getty Images

Kimi Antonelli just got in the way of Isack Hadjar as the Red Bull driver was on a fast lap, so the championship leader holds his hand up to say sorry to the Frenchman. Hadjar is 12th and Antonelli fifth so far in first practice.

Hadjar, Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton have all had lap times deleted for track limits at COTA suring this session, as Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and world champion Lando Norris occupy the top three places on the timesheets.

Lewis Hamilton runs wide at Turn 19 on his latest run on the softs, so the seven-time world champion stays sixth on the board, 0.635 seconds off the pace of his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.

If the update is Ferrari's biggest of the year, it looks to be working for Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque driver pulls out more performance from his car to jump above Max Verstappen's Red Bull by 0.084 seconds. The new time to beat is 1:36.052.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri goes seventh quickest, as Kimi Antonelli in fifth is finding it difficult to keep his Mercedes under control towards the end of the lap.

Rebecca Clancy
F1 journalist on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra in Austin

The chat in the paddock this morning is that the upgrades that Ferrari have brought are actually far more significant than the drivers have been letting on. Some are even suggesting that it's the biggest upgrade package of the year for Ferrari.

Image source, Getty Images

The drone shot is back for the TV coverage this weekend. It's following Max Verstappen, who is purple in the first sector and has enough pace in the bank to beat Charles Leclerc's top time by 0.192 seconds.

Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar has moved up the order on his flying lap on the soft compound, slotting into fifth place with a 1:36.490.

Kimi Antonelli needs to win this weekend and George Russell and Lewis Hamilton to trip up in order to become the youngest ever F1 world champion. The 20-year-old is more than four tenths off Charles Leclerc's best time at the moment, sandwiched between Lando Norris, who was fast in the middle sector, and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Charles Leclerc is a past winner in Austin and the Ferrari man is looking quick already. He's switched onto the soft tyre now and his new lap time of 1:36.052 is good enough to keep him at the top of the timesheets.

Max Verstappen is second quickest, 0.084 seconds off the pace of the Monegasque driver on the same soft compound.

The Williams garage is busy on both sides as Carlos Sainz and team-mate Alex Albon wait to set an opening lap time in first practice in Austin. It's been a disappointing season overall for the team, and they sit ninth in the constructors' championship behind the likes of Audi and Haas.

Speaking of Audi, German Nico Hulkenberg says his car has "very weird behaviour in the last corner," at COTA.

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 1:36.761

2. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.074

3. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.423

4. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.424

5. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.493

Image source, Getty Images

Even Formula 1 drivers get put on the naughty step when they misbehave on track.

Reigning world champion Lando Norris said he had "plenty of telling offs" after his contact with McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri on the final lap of the sprint event in Singapore last time out. Norris came away with a single point while Australian Piastri was left with a DNF in the shorter race.

After the dressing down, Norris added the pair are still free to race each other over the remaining races, they just can't do anything stupid.

Norris has dropped to sixth in the drivers' championship after his back-to-back victories in Hungary and Zandvoort following the summer break, and in Austin, he's third on the timing screen, four tenths behind leader Charles Leclerc.