1 Hamilton (McLaren)

2 Alonso (McLaren)

3 Massa (Ferrari)

4 Raikkonen (Ferrari)

5 Kovalainen (Renault)

6 Trulli (Toyota)

7 Webber (Red Bull)

8 Vettel (BMW Sauber)

By Sarah Holt

606: DEBATE Your thoughts on the US Grand Prix

To get involved, text us on 81111 (UK users only) or contribute to 606

Lap 73: Hamilton records back-to-back victories as he claims victory in the United States Grand Prix - his first-ever race at Indianapolis.

Hamilton takes the chequered flag from McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso by 1.5 seconds, to move 10 points clear ahead of the Spanish reigning world champion in the title race.

The 22-year-old is the first Briton to win the US Grand Prix in 24 years.

Massa finishes in third ahead of Raikkonen while Kovalainen crosses the line in fifth for Renault. BMW Sauber debutant Vettel collects a point on his debut in eighth.

Lap 72: Liuzzi also makes a late withdrawal as he rolls his Toro Rosso back to the pits.

Lap 69: Problems for Rosberg as smoke plumes from his car and there are yet more reliability problems for Williams. He jogs away from his car as flames lick around the engine bay. Rosberg's misfortune puts debutant Vettel in the points in eighth.

Lap 66: A little bit of a battle for the Britons lower down the order, as Super Aguri's Anthony Davidson nips past Jenson Button for 12th place.

"Button has got a massive problem - apart from driving a Honda - as his lap time is way down."
Five Live analyst Maurice Hamilton

Lap 65: The McLarens aren't racing now but the Ferraris are. Raikkonen is pushing Massa hard for third, closing to 0.4 seconds with the advantage of the softer tyres.

Lap 64: Vettel has a sniff at a championship point on his debut as he closes to within 0.9 seconds of Webber.

Lap 63: Webber has another go at Trulli into Turn One but he bounces up the curb and across the grass and has to let the old Toyota pro through.

Lap 61: The race looks to have settled down at the front but there could be one or two moves through the field. Raikkonen is just 0.5 seconds behind his Ferrari team-mate Massa and could yet attempt a pass. Webber tries to make a move on Trulli for seventh.

Lap 60: Webber comes into the Red Bull pits from fifth place.

Lap 57: Looks like the race for top spot is over as the McLarens have really eased up on their pace now. Hamilton holds a 2.3 second lead over Alonso.

Lap 56: Heidfeld was running well in seventh but his race is over now as he pulls onto the grass with technical problems.

Lap 54: "Alain Prost and Aryton Senna did not like each other but as far as I can tell, Alonso and Hamilton get on very well."
Five Live analyst Maurice Hamilton

Lap 52: Massa comes into the Ferrari pits - which means Hamilton is back in the lead. Massa feeds back in ahead of his team-mate Raikkonen in third.

Lap 51: Hamilton pits and he feeds out in front of Alonso to regain his advantage over his team-mate. Will that be the end of the race for victory in Indianapolis?

Lap 50: Alonso into the pits and he is out in 6.5 seconds.

Lap 49: Takuma Sato is penalised for passing under yellow flags earlier in the race and will lose 10 places on the grid at the French Grand Prix in two week's time. Raikkonen sets the fastest lap of the race with a 1:13.117.

Lap 48: Kovalainen is back into the Renault pits from sixth and Heidfeld pits from fifth soon afterwards.

Lap 45: There are no further reprisals at the front for now as Hamilton pulls 1.1 second clear of Alonso.

Lap 43: Raikkonen is the fastest man on the track at the moment as he is the only driver under 1:14:00. Watch out for him trying to close down his Ferrari team-mate Massa in third. Raikkonen has already used his hard tyres so will have an advantage with the softer tyres in the closing stages.

Lap 42: Life at the back of a Formula One race is thus: Christijan Albers runs his Spyker wide onto the grass. He is already two laps behind.

Lap 41: Rosberg pits from fourth. The fuel nozzle requires a bit of a jiggle to get it out of his Williams but he gets out quickly to feed back in 10th.

Lap 40: Alonso is 0.5 seconds behind Hamilton.

Lap 39: Alonso has a real chance to overtake Hamilton down the main straight as he gets in the Briton's slipstream. The Spanish world champion tries to get past on the outside as they go side-by-side but Hamilton holds him off. There are reports of wincing in the McLaren garage.

Lap 37: Fisichella comes into the Renault pits from 11th for his only stop.

Lap 35: Alonso is 0.8 seconds behind Hamilton as Button tries to sweep past Alexander Wurz in the Williams for 13th.

Lap 34: "Where Alonso is making time is on the quicker parts of the track and Hamilton is coming under a bit of pressure. They will probably be allowed to race until the second pit-stop."
Five Live analyst Maurice Hamilton

Lap 33: It looks like the McLarens are set to play out a private battle for honours in Indianapolis as Massa drops 14.1 seconds behind leader Hamilton and 13.6 seconds adrift of Alonso.

Lap 32: Jarno Trulli pits from third for Toyota and takes on soft tyres.

Lap 31: Webber comes into the pits and gets in and out very smoothly. Hamilton now has just a one-second lead over Alonso as more traffic looms on the horizon.

Lap 30: Fisichella finally gets past Vitantonio Liuzzi's Torro Rosso with a gliding movement on the outside to move up into 11th.

Lap 29: Hamilton is now clear of the traffic and so he should get back on the pace now.

Lap 27: Kovalaienen pits from the lead. He feeds back out in ninth as he gets a little bit caught up in traffic. And traffic does look like it is becoming a bit of a problem as Alonso closes to within 1.2 seconds of Hamilton.

Lap 26: A bit of a slow lap from Hamilton and Alonso is closing up to him, he is now 1.9 seconds behind the Briton.

Lap 25: Raikkonen pits from third - he didn't get that much further on the hard tyres.

Lap 24: Alonso overtakes Trulli down the main straight to move up to third.

Lap 23: Kovalainen leads a Grand Prix for the first time in his rookie career for Renault.

Lap 22: Alonso comes into the pits to pick up more fuel and a new set of soft tyres.

Lap 21: Hamilton comes in to the pits for McLaren and Felipe Massa comes in at the same time.

Lap 20: Hamilton is approaching traffic at the back markers and the McLaren mechanics are out in the pits.

Lap 19: Alonso looked like he was on a hot lap but Hamilton responds by accelerating away to a new fastest lap of 1:13.324.

Lap 17: Hamilton's lead at the front is 3.2 seconds.

Lap 16: "The Renault car is improving race by race, but the team still have some way to go before they catch the McLarens and Ferraris."
Five Live analyst Maurice Hamilton

Lap 15: Hamilton has been motoring on at a relentless pace at the front. He is now 2.9 seconds ahead of Alonso - and remember he has never driven round the Indianapolis circuit before.

Lap 14: Oops Sato is out anyway as he goes wide at Turn One and slides into the gravel trap and that's the end of his race. He was steering so hard the steering wheel literally comes off in his hands.

Lap 12: Super Aguri's Takuma Sato is under investigation for passing when the yellow flags were raised because of Ralf Schumacher's early shunt into Coulthard.

Lap 11: This is what's happening at the front: Hamilton is 2.1 seconds ahead of Alonso with Massa a further 2.3 seconds adrift of the Spaniard in third.

Lap 10: Button and Fisichella are engaging in a bit of a battle for 16th and 17th. The British Honda driver does well to hold off the Renault man but eventually Fisichella drives through on Turn 8.

Lap eight: Renault's Kovalainen is coming under a little bit of pressure from Raikkonen - the Ferrari is only 0.6 seconds behind.

Lap seven: Hamilton still pulling away from Alonso his lead is now exactly two seconds.

Lap six: "Hamilton and Alonso made equal starts. Alonso tried to come out of the slipstream to try and run outside Hamilton but Hamilton was not going to be intimidated at all, and now he is almost two seconds ahead."
Five Live analyst Maurice Hamilton

Lap five: Alonso sets a new fastest lap of 1:13.681 as he pulls further away from Alonso.

Lap four: Hamilton holds a 1.3-second lead over Alonso. Adrian Sutil has done well to pull his Spyker through from 21st on the grid up to 13th.

Lap three: Coulthard's race is over and so is Barrichello's. Meanwhile, at the front Hamilton sets the fastest lap of the race so far of 1:14.329.

Lap two: Some incidents to update you on from lap one. Ralf Schumacher is out after bumping his Toyota into David Coulthard, who has to go back to the Red Bull pits. Rubens Barrichello is also back in the Honda pits with suspension damage.

Lap one: Alonso tries to hussle pole-sitter Hamilton but the British rookie holds his McLaren team-mate off and is clear away. Nick Heidfeld and Haikki Kovalainen both move beyond Kimi Raikkonen up to fourth and fifth respectively.

1804: Slow to form the grid in Indy but off they go.

1800: The drivers are off on their parade lap, weaving left to right to warm up their tyres. Most of the drivers have opted for the soft tyres, with the exception of Kimi Raikkonen.

1759: "Hamilton's main job (at the start) will be to move from left to right and try and get in front of Fernando Alonso and block him off."
Five Live analyst Maurice Hamilton

1757: Nearly ready for the off and it will be lap-by-lap commentary from here on in. Conditions really warm in Indianapolis, up to 36C now.

1756:"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that Hamilton will win."
Ezrollers on 606

1750: "Hamilton is tearing apart the F1 rule book with his displays. He is driving with such maturity and awareness that it is frightening. It's so refreshing after Michael Schumacher's monopoly."
Hitchhikerfromthegalaxy on 606

1747: The drivers are taking on water and preparing to settle into their cars now for the race. Apart from rows of rows of F1 glamour girls on the grid the celebrity count is a bit disappointing, though Hamilton has singer/rapper/producer Pharrell Williams in his corner.

1736: Lots and lots of support for Hamilton on 606. In fact, before I'm accused of bias, I should say NO-ONE seems to want to talk up the chances of Alonso and the Ferraris.

"Go on Lewis. Like Ryan Giggs, like Martin Johnson, like Steven Redgrave, like Sir Bobby Moore you have the ability to become a British sporting legend."
ManUnitedBadBoyZClub on 606

Hmmm the BBC Sport website's motorsport editor is a Man Utd fan, could that be his post?

1732: The drivers are creeping out of their garages and bringing the cars round onto the grid. It looks like another sizzling day in Indianapolis with temperatures up to 34C.

1729: "It's not just in Britain that Lewis Hamilton has taken the headlines by storm. The local paper here in Indy has the headline, "The rookie continues to amaze". It's not a foregone conclusion today but Lewis has a great chance."
Five Live commentator David Croft

1720: "I think being alongside a "rookie" and ending up on the losing side is hurting Alonso's ego like hell."
In A Wrong Land on 606

1713: "I never used to watch Formula One all the time - until now! Can't wait to see Hamilton come first."
Patrick via text

1705: The US GP is held at the twisting and turning Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Three weeks ago, Scotland's Dario Franchitti won the legendary Indy 500 on the banked oval at the same circuit.

The odds against compatriot David Coulthard making it a double success for Scotland look pretty slim as he starts in 11th for Red Bull.

The rest of the Brits line up as follows; Jenson Button starts in 13th for Honda, Anthony Davidson is 16th for Super Aguri, oh and Hamilton's McLaren is on pole, in case I forgot to mention that.

1700: Most of you on the 606 forums are predicting a Hamilton win; here's some of your thoughts:

"It's got to be Hamilton. He's got Alonso rattled, and a rattled Alonso is not the great driver we have come to know. One Macca driver drove like a rookie last week and it wasn't Lewis."
AlmidanoArtifoni on 606

"Looking forward to seeing Hamilton at the top of his game, but what is odd is that not a single thing has gone wrong for him this season, no flips or hazadous spins and he always seems to prevail COMPLETELY unscathed!"
Jaziri on 606

1656: I mentioned earlier that another young gun to watch is BMW Sauber's Sebastian Vettel.

But team boss Mario Theissen says regardless of how he does at Indy, there is no danger of Robert Kubica, who is recovering from the effects of his big crash in Canada, losing his place to the rookie.

Just to make it absolutely clear, when asked if a Vettel podium spot would make him change his mind, he said: "Absolutely not. Even if he wins the race."

1650: "I can see another long face from the Spaniard at the end of the race. His face in the qualifying press conference was a picture. He tried to smile, but you could see what was behind it."
Cilurnum on 606

1630: Welcome to another chapter in Lewis Hamilton's fledgling Formula One career - his debut in the United States Grand Prix.

Sorry to mention Hamilton so soon but there really is only one question to be answered in Indianapolis: can Hamilton win his second Grand Prix in a row, in just the seventh race of his career?

What do you think? Your thoughts please on 606 and via text on 81111.

The 22-year-old Hamilton leads the standings by eight points and took his second successive pole by out-pacing McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso.

The Briton clocked one minute 12.331 seconds, just 0.169 seconds ahead of the double world champion.

However, the pair have not been as close off the track as they have on it.

In the week between Hamilton's maiden F1 victory in Canada and his arrival in Indy, they have been publicly sniping back and forth over favouritism and team orders.

Now the duo, lined up on the front of the grid for the second race in a row, have the chance to settle their differences on the track.

Ferrari pair Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen will be looking to reignite their challenge in the US, too. They line up on the second row.

Someone else to watch out for during the race is Sebastian Vettel, who makes his F1 for BMW Sauber.

The 19-year-old German, who has stepped in for the injured Robert Kubica, is the youngest driver in the field and has really impressed, qualifying in seventh.

Full qualifying positions:

1 L Hamilton (GB) McLaren 1:12.331
2 F Alonso (Spn) McLaren 1:12.500
3 F Massa (Brz) Ferrari 1:12.703
4 K Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:12.839
5 N Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:12.847
6 H Kovalainen (Fin) Renault 1:13.308
7 S Vettel (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:13.513
8 J Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:13.789
9 M Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:13.871
10 G Fisichella (Ita) Renault 1:13.953
11 D Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 1:12.873
12 R Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 1:12.920
13 J Button (GB) Honda 1:12.998
14 N Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 1:13.060
15 R Barrichello (Brz) Honda 1:13.201
16 A Davidson (GB) Super Aguri-Honda 1:13.259
17 A Wurz (Aut) Williams-Toyota 1:13.441
18 T Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 1:13.477
19 V Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:13.484
20 S Speed (US) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:13.712
21 A Sutil (Ger) Spyker-Ferrari 1:14.122
22 C Albers (Ned) Spyker-Ferrari 1:14.597