Johann Zarco has passed teammate Jorge Martin to claim a thrilling first MotoGP victory in his 120th premier-class start.

Martin led every lap but the last in what was close to a perfect performance, but the Spaniard gambled his victory chances on the soft rear tyre that let him down in the final 10 laps.

The Pramac rider was a sitting duck as his seemingly insurmountable 3.5-second lead in the middle of the race was whittled down to nothing by a four-rider pack that smelt blood.

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Charles Leclerc will lead Lando Norris off the front row for Sunday’s grand prix after Max Verstappen bombs out of qualifying in sixth after a late track limits infringement.

Charles Leclerc beat Lando Norris to pole position for Sunday’s United States Grand Prix after Max Verstappen had his fastest time deleted for exceeding track limits.

Red Bull Racing’s pace advantage was reduced by the mixed demands of Circuit of The Americas and its rapidly evolving grip levels, turning the battle for pole into a genuine four-way contest between Verstappen, Leclerc, Norris and Lewis Hamilton.

Leclerc took provisional pole at the end of the first laps, in part thanks to Verstappen arriving at the last corner immediately behind teammate Sergio Perez, understeering through the left-hander in the Mexican’s dirty air.

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Max Verstappen led the sole practice session at the Circuit of The Americas ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton heading into qualifying this afternoon for the United States Grand Prix.

The sprint weekend format meant the single hour of free practice was busy on track, with teams attempting to cram a usual weekend’s 180 minutes of practice into a single session.

All three tire compounds featured over the 60 minutes, but it wasn’t until the final 10 minutes that most drivers switched to soft rubber for qualifying simulation laps just a few hours out from the grid-setting session.

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Title leader Francesco Bagnaia has failed to directly qualify for the top 10 on the grid for the second week in a row in a crucial timed practice session headed by KTM teammates Brad Binder and Aussie Jack Miller.

Bagnaia had been off the pace all session and found himself needing to set a competitive time in the last three minutes of the hour.

Championship rival Jorge Martin, among a gaggle of other riders, disrupted his rhythm by picking up his slipstream on his first lap. Bagnaia attempted to shake the pack but in doing so compromised his first lap, which ended with an unrepresentative time.

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It was a funny atmosphere on Phillip Island on Friday night.

Nothing had really changed, but at the same time everything had changed.

Practice had gone ahead without a hitch, the circuit basked in glorious sunshine. But the forecast was close at hand for every team and rider, with brows furrowed about the viability of holding a grand prix in the high winds predicted for Sunday.

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Daniel Ricciardo returns to the cockpit for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix with little on the line but much to prove.

Ricciardo’s grand plan to find himself a place at a race-winning team is coming together. He spent the months after being axed from McLaren deconstructing and rebuilding himself in the Red Bull simulator as a reserve driver, and after just 10 rounds he got the nod to replace the ousted Nyck de Vries at sister team AlphaTauri.

His first two races were promising, but the run ended suddenly with a practice crash in the Netherlands that broke his left hand and left him unable to drive until this weekend.

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MotoGP has brought forward the Australian Grand Prix to Saturday afternoon in a bid to avoid inclement weather forecast for Sunday.

The 27-lap grand prix will now take place at 3:10pm tomorrow instead of the sprint, less than three hours after the conclusion of qualifying.

The sprint will be moved to 2:00pm on Sunday in the feature race’s original slot.

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Red Bull Racing has won the drivers-constructors title double, but all is not calm as the team arrives in Austin.

Jack Miller is hopeful his upgraded KTM can take the fight to dominant Ducati at his home Australian Grand Prix this weekend.

Miller has had a roller-coaster of a first season with the Austrian brand, bursting from the blocks with a podium in the fourth round but losing his way through the middle of the campaign.

Ducati, meanwhile, has won all but three of 15 races so far this season, with Miller’s former factory team taking six of those via title leader Francesco Bagnaia.

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Reigning Australian Grand Prix winner Álex Rins has cast doubt on the running of this year’s race, with high winds forecast to disrupt Sunday running.

Phillips Island has basked in warm and sunny weather on Thursday, but conditions are set to deteriorate over the weekend.

Fresh winds and light showers and will arrive for qualifying and the sprint on Saturday, while Sunday’s radar predicts up to 6 millimetres of rain and strong winds of up to 45 kilometres per hour. Gusts could be as strong as 70 kilometres per hour.

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Red Bull Racing principal Christian Horner has denied reports that he’s attempting to oust Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko from Formula 1.

Reports in the Brazilian and German media during the week suggested Horner has spent the last year making a play for total control of the energy drink brand’s F1 operations, which include both Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri.

But Auto Bild has reported that three-time champion Max Verstappen has thrown his weight behind Marko, tying his future at the team to the Austrian retaining his place in the garage.

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Daniel Ricciardo is set for his first race after almost two months sidelined with a broken hand — and as Sergio Pérez continues to struggle with bad form at Red Bull Racing. Meanwhile, the high-stakes, big-money argument over American Michael Andretti’s F1 bid simmers away ahead of the sport’s biggest race in the United States.

We ask AI Gerard Whateley whether the risk to Sergio Pérez’s seat is an overreaction.

Oscar Piastri wins his first f1 race in the Qatar sprint and backs up with a career-best second in the grand prix for the most complete weekend of his career. Max Verstappen finally makes official his third world title, but his triumphant weekend is overshadowed by extreme heat bringing driver health to the fore.

We pay our respects to a sizzling grand prix (show some respect) and ask why people don’t wear face shields anymore.

Max Verstappen backs up his championship win with a grand prix victory despite last-minute changes to the tyre rules on safety grounds and the stifling heat of the desert.

Champion-elect Max Verstappen romped to a straightforward victory at a tire-compromised Qatar Grand Prix ahead of another podium performance for McLaren.

Verstappen’s only risk came off the line, when George Russell attempted to press him onto the Turn 1 apex to take position.

Lewis Hamilton, starting third, got a better launch with his soft tires and tried to sweep around both, but he turned in too early and clipped his teammate, sending himself and Russell spinning off track.

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