US Grand Prix 2017: Start time, TV schedule for F1 race at COTA

Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes can win the Formula One Drivers Championship, and his team can win the Constructors Championship, with a good showing at the United States Grand Prix on Sunday.

The race, coming from the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, will begin at 3 p.m. ER on Sunday. It will be broadcast by NBC within the United States, with a live stream available via NBC Sports on connected devices.

Hamilton has the lead in the standings ahead of Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari. Earlier in the season, Hamilton trailed Vettel but has out-performed him over the past few races to regain the lead. His teammate, Valtteri Bottas, will start third next to Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull in fourth on the second row.

It will be interesting to see if Hamilton, the only black F1 driver, will take a knee during the playing of the national anthem before the race. He’s said that he’s considering doing so and has been vocal about social injustice on social media and in interviews.

There are some huge driver changes for this race as well. Carlos Sainz Jr. has moved from Toro Rosso to Renault, replacing Jolyon Palmer in a move that will continue into next season. He’ll be replaced by Daniil Kvyat, who himself was replaced earlier this season by Pierre Gasly at Toro Rosso. On top of that, Gasly will be competing in another racing discipline over the weekend, and is being replaced at Toro Rosso for Sunday’s grand prix with Brendon Hartley.

Hartley, competing in his first race, will start from the very back of the grid thanks to a 25-place grid penalty for a power unit change. Nico Hulkenberg of Renault has a 20-place grid penalty. Max Verstappen of Red Bull has a 15-place grid penalty and Stoffel Vandoorne of McLaren has a five-place grid penalty.

All of those penalties are due to power unit changes. Verstappen qualified among the top drivers, but he will start 18th on the grid due to his penalty.

Vettel’s teammate, Kimi Raikkonen, will start fifth next to Esteban Ocon of Force India in sixth. Sainz qualified in seventh for his first race with Renault, and he’ll be next to Fernando Alonso of McLaren in eighth. Sergio Perez of Force India and Felipe Massa of Williams round out the top 10.

Below is all you need to know to watch the action on Sunday as well as the full lineup and starting grid for the grand prix.

Date: Oct. 22, 2017

Location: Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas

Time: 3 p.m. ET

TV: NBC

Online Streaming: NBC Sports Live