13:04 We have five red lights ... and it's GO for the US Grand Prix.

13:03 Vettel returns to pole position, with the pack slowly coming into place behind.

13:00 All 22 cars make it away from the grid in order. This lap is all about getting the tyres up to pressure and temperature while warming the brakes up and trying to keep engine temps under control.

12.59 Vergne is the only driver to start on the hard tyres. He is 14th on the grid, the rest are on medium tyres.

12.58 It will be interesting to see the strategies adopted by Rosberg, Massa and Button who are all starting outside the top ten in cars capable of finishing inside the top ten.

12.56 The right hand side of the grid should get a better start as they have the racing line underneath them. So that's everyone with an odd grid spot number.

12.53 For the third race in a row, Red Bull broke the seal on Vettel's gearbox to make sure everything was in order. They did it within the regulations, but it just goes to show how marginal his gearbox is. This is its last scheduled race but it's taken a battering in recent races with those celebratory doughnuts.

12.53 The grandstands are packed along the pit straight. A fantastic sight and so different to so many other new venues F1 visits. Austin has really embraced this race.

12.51 Paul di Resta is another driver hoping the hot weather will help him. Force India have the ability to go longer on the tyres so if some rivals are pushed onto a two-stop he could be in a good place.

12.49 The national anthem rings out around the circuit now everyone is settled on the grid.

12.45 Plenty of work on Hamilton's car ahead of the race. They are bleeding the brakes on the grid due to a 'long pedal' on the way to his fifth place. Mercedes is confident it will get the car ready for the start of the race.

12.44 Strategy wise, we're looking at a one-stop, but with these tyres and higher temps we never quite know. The hard tyres have been holding up well so far, so as soon as the mediums start to drop the hards should fill in the gap.

12.42 Kovalainen is confident and relaxed, saying the car has felt good all weekend. He starts eighth which was a very good effort after mixed conditions throughout practice. Established drivers like Massa, Button and Rosberg all got caught out yesterday by the cool temperatures and high winds.

12.40 Focusing back on today's race (yes, you at the back too), Lotus is quietly confident about the higher temperatures today. With the sun out, the air temp is up to 28C and the track is at 35C.

12.38

There's a very American atmosphere on the grid today with cheerleaders from the Dallas Cowboys keeping the photographers happy. © Getty Images

12.36 Turn 1 also has the potential to make or break a few races, with a steep incline towards a tight apex. There's plenty of space to run wide, but anybody getting greedy might have get their wings clipped.

12.34 The front of the grid has a familiar look to it, with Vettel on pole ahead of Webber and Grosjean, but there's a few names in the mix, such as Hulkenberg and Bottas who have a real chance to shine today.

12.30 Welcome to live commentary of the US Grand Prix. the sun is out, the grandstands are packed and we have 22 cars ready to head to the grid for the start of the race.

Lap 1

Great starts for the drivers on the right hand side of the grid. Vettel leads Grosjean and Hamilton. Webber drops back to fourth ahead of Hulkenberg.

All the cars made it through Turn 1 cleanly. Kovalainen is down to 10th.

Big crash for Sutil!

Lap 2

The safety car is out. Sutil crashed on the back straight between Turns 12 and 13. Very odd.

There must have been contact. Gutierrez has come into the pits so he may have collided with the Force India some how.

Gutierrez has a puncture and some damage to the rear of the car. He heads back out.

A replay shows it as contact between Sutil and Maldonado. Gutierrez must have got a puncture from the debris. It looked as though Sutil moved across on Maldonado as they went down the straight and tagged the Williams.

Lap 3

As the cars cross the line behind the safety car, Vettel leads Grosjean, Hamilton, Webber, Hulkenberg, Perez and Alonso, who has dropped a place from the start. Bottas is up to eighth ahead of di Resta and Ricciardo.

A replay of the start shows that Grosjean made the best start of the top three, but Vettel had track position on the inside as he blocked off Webber.

Lap 4

The safety car stays out as Sutil's Force India is finally craned away. We should be racing again on the next lap.

It's always tricky to pull a move at a rolling restart, but one error from the car in front exiting the final corner and drivers will fancy their chances into Turn 1.

Safety car coming in.

Lap 5

We're racing again. Vettel leads Grosjean into Turn 1 quite comfortably. Grosjean has a decent gap over Hamilton who has Webber close behind.

Hamilton runs wide at the hairpin, but it won't be enough to allow Webber to have a look. But Perez is close enough to have a look at Hulkenberg. The Sauber has the inside line and holds the position.

Lap 6

Hulkenberg is looking a little ragged and has Perez close behind. Alonso is also pretty close to the McLaren so this could get interesting.

Webber is also close to Hamilton, but the problem is that it's going to be tricky here to get close enough. The DRS will come into play on the next lap. Vettel, meanwhile, already leads by 1.9s from Grosjean.

Lap 7

Vettel now leads by 2.4s from Grosjean. We've seen this before. Hamilton is 1,9s off the Lotus but has Webber attacking with DRS behind.

It's not quite enough to allow Webber to have a look into Turn 13 but as the tyres start to go to the limit he could have an opportunity.

Lap 8

There's also a DRS zone on the pit straight but Webber is even further off the Mercedes on the run up to Turn 1.

Grosjean is pegging Vettel at 2.9s. This might not be as one-sided as we feared.

Maldonado has a badly damaged front wing. He's running 16th but has already dropped 4.1s off Vergne ahead of him.

Lap 9

Vettel stretches his legs with a 3.4s lead over Grosjean. Hamilton 2.3s behind the Lotus.

Maldonado is forced to pit by the race director with a black and orange flag. Williams would have wanted to get him into a window to run to the end on hard tyres, but I can't see him featuring anywhere near the points today.

Bottas, meanwhile, is eighth and 1.6s off Alonso. Good drive by him so far as he is definitely holding his own.

Lap 10

Vettel is about a tenth a lap faster than Grosjean at the moment. Meanwhile, Webber has backed off Hamilton, most likely to look after his tyres now he has realised an overtaking move is not on the cards.

Perez is still close to Hulkenberg. That is probably our best chance of an overtaking move at the front.

Lap 11

Alonso is also looking racey behind Perez as he slithers his Ferrari towards the apex of Turn 1 and puts it firmly in the McLaren's mirror. Not close enough to make it stick though.

Vettel told his pace is good as he leads Grosjean by 3.8s.

Lap 12

Vettel extends his lead to 4.2s now. Hamilton 4.5s off in third. Webber is now closing back to within a second of the Mercedes. Maybe he fancies his chances.

Two fastest sectors from Webber but passing Hamilton will not be simple. It isn't at the best of times and is even tougher on this track.

Lap 13

Webber has a look at the Mercedes into Turn 1, but he was only flirting with the idea of an overtaking manoeuvre. However, Hamilton is told he needs to manage his tyres. He tells the team to stop bothering him.

And Webber gets it done around the outside of Webber into Turn 13. Great move, Hamilton had the inside blocked, but Webber was much quicker using the DRS. Good tactical driving from the Red Bull.

Lap 14

Vettel is now 4.7s ahead at the front. Webber is 5.2s behind Grosjean on this lap.

A replay shows that Webber had so much more speed and stability under braking. The result made the overtaking move around the outside look easy.

Lap 15

Grosjean drops to 5.2s off Vettel. Webber is 5.3s behind but no faster than the Lotus at the moment. Hamilton has already dropped to 2.3s off Webber and now has Hulkenberg to worry about.

Indeed, Hulkenberg is told he is racing Hamilton and the Mercedes is struggling with his tyres. Alonso, meanwhile, also seems to be struggling and has dropped off the back of Perez and towards Bottas.

Button is having a look at Massa for 13th place behind Kovalainen's Lotus in 12th.

Lap 16

Now Vettel is putting the hammer down. He seems to have Grosjean broken. Webber is also closing on the Lotus. Not only is the Red Bull the fastest car out there, it also seems to be better on its tyres.

Bottas is 0.9s off Alonso, so that could be an interesting battle. The Ferrari's tyres appear to be cooked while the Williams is really holding in there at the moment. Great drive so far.

Lap 17

Vettel is 0.8s faster than Grosjean per lap and now has a lead of 6.3s. We've seen this before...

Webber is 0.1s faster than the Lotus but that should be a good battle until the end of the race. Hamilton says he has "no grip" as he falls to 4.0s off Webber. He is desperately trying to hold on to a one-stop strategy.

Lap 18

Kovalainen pits.from 12th. This was always going to be the issue for him, tyre management is tricky this year and he has 17 races less experience than the rest of the grid.

Vettel told it is more important to go long on these tyres than fast.

Lap 19

Vettel now leads by 7.4s but has taken the edge off his pace. Webber has dropped a couple of tenths again to Grosjean but is still increasing his gap over Hamilton, who still has a 2.9s buffer to Hulkenberg.

Rosberg goes wheel-to-wheel with Ricciardo and muscles his way past at Turn 13. The Toro Rosso fights back but it's not enough. Rosberg is into the points. Great move from Rosberg from a long way back, he just kept it on the track and then took the inside into Turn 14.

Lap 20

Hulkenberg has dropped another 0.5s to Hamilton now. Perez has given up the attempt to pass as Alonso closes back in.

Lap 21

Vettel now leads by 8.3s at the front. Webber still dropping time to Grosjean, 5.5s off.

Button pits and comes out behind Kovalainen. Massa is told to respond with a quick lap to stay ahead of the McLaren when he pits.

Alonso is now on the back of Perez and looking racey.

Lap 22

Massa pits now in response to Button. Massa rejoins just ahead of Button but the McLaren is looking for a way past in the snake.

Alonso is all over Perez now in the other McLaren/Ferrrari battle. Perez told to pit.

Lap 23

Perez comes in as Alonso stays out. Hard tyres go on Perez's car with a 2.8s stop. Alonso now has clear air but needs a stunning lap to try and jump Perez.

Rosberg and Ricciardo also pitted and came out in that order. However, Kovalainen is ahead of those to and in a net tenth place if everything pans out as it should. However, he needs to make those tyres last longer.

Lap 24

Bottas comes out the pits after a bit of a slow 3.8s stop.

Back at the front, Vettel still leads by 8.1s as Webber ups his pace.

Lap 25

Webber is back within 5.3s of the Lotus and was 0.5s quicker on that last lap.

Perez is on the move with his new tyres but is now coming up behind Gutierrez and Vergne, who haven't pitted. This could work out for Alonso who has still not pitted.

Lap 26

Hamilton pits. A 3.0s for him, he entered the pits 2.0s ahead of Hulkenberg, so the Sauber will be looking to pit soon to stay in touch.

Perez is now losing a lot of time behind Vergne, who was passed by Gutierrez on that last lap. He desperately needs to get past because Alonso is quite a lot quicker now.

Perez does get past, but still has Gutierrez ahead, who made a lap one pit stop.

Lap 27

Alonso pits now in 2.6s. He parks the car on the apex of Turn 1 as he comes out of the pits and has leapfrogged the McLaren. Great stuff from Alonso and the Ferrari boys. Gutierrez remains ahead.

Lap 28

Vettel pits now. Slick pit work from the Red Bull crew. Hulkenberg also pits.

Hamilton holds onto net fourth place from Hulkenberg though. Some good laps on the hard tyres by the Mercedes to stay ahead of the Sauber.

Alonso is now attacking Gutierrez. Both cars have stopped but Alonso's tyres are about 25 laps fresher and the Sauber will most likely have to pit again.

Lap 29

Webber pits from second as Grosjean stays out in the lead. Super quick stop from Red Bull in just 2.3s! Impressive stuff.

Alonso pulls a great move on Gutierrez, going to the outside in Turn 1 but then cutting back underneath on the run down to Turn 2. Top stuff from the Ferrari man, but the overtaking move was inevitable with fresher tyres.

Lap 30

Grosjean pits from the lead. Not a bad stop from Lotus in 2.8s.

Vettel regains his lead with ease as Grosjean emerges ahead of Webber but did lose 0.5s in static time while having his tyres changed.

Hamilton told he is holding the gap to Hukenberg at 2.0s. He tells his team to give him more feedback on tyres and temperatures, In his first stint he was telling them to leave him alone!

Lap 31

Perez passes Gutierrez coming out of the final corner. No surprises as he once again had fresher tyres like Alonso earlier.

Vettel's lead is now 9.9s. However, he is told not to take too much out of his tyres and is reminded the two cars behind went longer on their first stint.

Lap 32

Webber is gaining on Grosjean now and is 2.0s off the Lotus.

Meanwhile, Rosberg passes Kovalainen on the back straight for 11th place.

Kovalinen pits for a new front wing. He must have had an issue, hence the degrading tyres and poor pace. He now has mediums but is going to come out well down the order.

Lap 33

Webber is just 1.1s off Grosjean now and is 0.9s faster a lap. That's enough to attempt an overtaking move.

Hamilton is 11.8s off Webber in fourth and now has Hulkenberg 1.5s off the Mercedes with Alonso 3.9s behind.

Lap 34

Rosberg is closing on di Resta now and pulls another great move from a long way back to beat the Force India into Turn 13.

The battle continues through the next few corners, but that puts the Mercedes back into the points in 10th.

Webber is 1.0s behind Grosjean now and clearly pushing hard. He seems to be struggling again in the Lotus' wake, or maybe Grosjean is unleashing a bit more pace from his tyres.

Bottas is climbing all over the back of Gutierrez. He should be able to pass soon.

Lap 35

Great, great move by Bottas! He goes to the outside in Turn 1 and then uses the better traction to pass around the outside of Turn 2. He really needed to brave that out and he just about has enough pace to slip past before the tighter Turns 3 and 4.

Lap 36

Webber has dropped a second to Grosjean somewhere on that last lap. Vettel is 10.7s ahead but Webber is struggling to extract the pace from his Red Bull when it matters.

Webber loses 0.5s in sector two. Is this another problem for the No. 2 Red Bull?

Lap 37

Webber drops to 3.0s off Grosjean now. Something is not right with his car. He looks and sounds okay from the onboard. Very odd.

Hulkenberg remains 1.5s off Hamilton, and will be biding his time and hoping the Mercedes has more tyre issues towards the end of this stint.

Gutierrez pits for the second time for a final sprint on the medium tyres.

Lap 38

Webber is right back on the pace now within 2.0s of Grosjean. He may have been just managing his tyres after getting too close to Grosjean.

Webber attacking hard now and takes 0.6s out of Grosjean in the first two sectors. Remarkable that he is so much quicker but unable to pass.

Lap 39

Grosjean isn't hanging around either. He's now back within 9.5s of Vettel.

Massa pits for the second time. That's not what we expected. He takes on mediums for the final stint. Points are very unlikely now for him.

Lap 40

Alonso is still able to push and has the gap to Hulkenberg down to 3.1s. He should be able to close that gap now.

Bottas' pace has dropped off in recent laps as he manages his tyres. Rosberg is closing and is 6.7s off the Williams in eighth.

Lap 41

Vettel ups his pace again after two consecutive laps losing time to Grosjean. You feel as if he is toying with the Lotus, which should really be more concerned about the other Red Bull 1.8s behind.

Alonso is still pushing hard and is now 1.8s off Hulkenberg who is 1.8s off Hamilton.

Ricciardo attacks di Resta into Turn 1 for 10th place but has to lock a brake and back out. The Toro Rosso is definitely the faster car though.

Lap 42

Vettel told to look after his tyres again and warned that if they drop off "you won't have much warning". Obviously a concern for Webber as well as he has dropped back off Grosjean before attacking again in the first sector.

Vettel is 10.4s ahead of Grosjean, the Red Bulls are much, much quicker but they are paranoid about tyre life on the pit wall.

Lap 43

Alonso is now 1.2s off Hulkenberg now. That should become tasty soon. The Sauber is 2.0s off Hamilton.

Ricciardo still attacking di Resta, but the Force India driver has been told to up his pace to hold onto the final point.

Alonso sets the fastest second sector of the race and is right on the Sauber's gearbox towards the end of this lap.

Lap 44

This is so frustrating for Webber as he remains 2.1s off Grosjean, now doubt being told to manage the tyres behind the Lotus - which he hates.

Alonso is throwing caution to the wind, however, and gets very close in Turn 12 but that compromises his on the long straight down to Turn 13.

Ricciardo makes the move stick into Turn 1. Di Resta tried to fight back in Turn 2 but runs wide and out of the points.

Lap 45

Alonso moves up to fifth with a good move on the inside of Hulkenberg into Turn 1. The Ferrari had the Sauber in knots as Hulkenberg took the inside line but missed the apex and left a gap for Alonso.

Lap 46

Vettel told the tyres are not bulletproof and Red Bull are monitoring wear. He says he knows but to keep him updated. He has his lead back up to 10.4s over Grosjean and seems happy to hold it there. Grosjean is still 1.8s ahead of Webber.

Alonso is now 1.9s off Hamilton and closing. Hulkenberg was 0.8s off the Ferrari across the line but is losing time now.

Lap 47

Grosjean back within 10.0s of Vettel, but this is all tyre management from the man up front. Webber sets a new fastest lap and is now 1.0s off Grosjean and in DRS range.

Alonso is 1.1s off Hamilton and also close to using his DRS. That will be a good battle to end this race.

Lap 48

Webber is now taking a look at the back of Grosjean, maybe he feels like he has the pace advantage now to mount an attack. But Grosjean will be very feisty in defending no doubt.

Webber has a look at Turn 13 but can't make it stick.

Lap 49

Grosjean sets a personal best as he fends off Webber. He has the gap down to 8.7s to Vettel, who is now in cruise mode to the line.

Alonso is 1.2s off Hamilton so either struggling in the dirty air or biding his time. Hulkenberg still 1.3s off the Ferrari.

It's going to take a huge lunge from Webber at the moment by the looks of it, but he still has seven laps to plot and plan his move.

Lap 50

Grosjean sets another personal best as he drags Webber around the circuit. Alonso has now dropped to 2.0s off Hamilton.

Gutierrez on his fresh tyres is pushing Vergne for 12th. Di Resta has pitted ahead of them so he will drop out of contention.

Bottas is now pushing again with Rosberg 5.0s behind. He's on for his first points today.

Lap 51

Webber 0.8s off Grosjean as he crosses the line but still unable to manufacture a way past.

Kovalainen passes Maldonado for 15th place. Not where he wanted to be today, but at least a positive move to prove he still has his race craft intact.

Lap 52

Webber remains on Grosjean's gearbox. Webber is told to use all of his KERS on the back straight to try to pass after getting closer on that last lap.

But he's nowhere near close enough on this lap. He looked like he was struggling with traction out of the hairpin, so Grosjean might just have him beaten.

Lap 53

Grosjean sets the fastest lap of the race and still has tyres left to push. This has been a fantastic race by him. More proof that he is ready to lead Lotus into 2014.

Webber really struggling now as he loses the rear end in the hairpin. He's told to use KERS out of the final corner, but he's nowhere near close enough now.

Lap 54

Grosjean appears to have Webber beaten. He's now 6.3s off Vettel now but the lead Red Bull only has to nurse his car for another three laps.

Alonso's challenge on Hamilton has gone off the boil. 2.9s the gap now and Hulkenberg 1.2s off the Ferrari.

Lap 55

Vettel sets a new fastest lap, but is warned he is the only person who can beat him today.

The closest battle in the points is for the final one with Button 0.8s behind Ricciardo and attempting a pass right now.

Button passes on the inside of Turn 1 to take the final point. As Hulkenberg attacks Alonso in the final sector of the penultimate lap.

Lap 56

Vettel wins the US Grand Prix at a canter. Grosjean holds on to second. Webber takes third.

Hamilton keeps fourth place, not bad from him and Alonso fends off Hulkenberg for fifth.

Gutierrez has a last lap spin after contact trying to pass Vergne for 12th.

And here come the doughnuts on the exit of the hairpin. "We have to remember these days" Vettel says after breaking the record for the most consecutive wins in a season.

Bottas takes his first points in eighth. Great weekend for him.

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Vettel on his final lap now and cruising to victory.

Hulkenberg passes Alonso into Turn 1, but the Ferrari is wary to that, takes a wide line, gets better traction and retakes the position on the exit of the corner.

Vettel returns his car to parc ferme. A fantastic win for him and also by Grosjean who took a very valuable 18 points for Lotus.

Apologies, Lotus is 18 points shy of Ferrari so third place could be within range in Brazil. It should be interesting but Lotus will still need Kovalainen to perform.

The German national anthem rings out over Austin as Vettel soaks it all in on top of the podium.

Thanks for joining us this weekend. The Vettel win has looked locked on all along, but still a very impressive achievement nonetheless. We'll be back in just one week for more live commentary from the Brazilian Grand Prix and the final race of the 2013 season.