Many of the drivers are unhappy with the state of the tarmac surface in the US, particularly when it comes to starting the race on the dirty/clean side of the grid. Lewis Hamilton has spoken out about the situation, after completing a practice start that didn't go to his liking:

"It wasn't very good. It was really poor; I barely went anywhere when I let the clutch out. That is why I am saying they need to clean the inside because it is just as slippery as when we started driving yesterday."

There's talk of teams shuffling their drivers around the grid by means of teammate grid penalties to get the preferred side of the grid. Whilst that is just talk, even the speculation highlights how big a problem grip at the start of the race could be.