In the penultimate corner of the track, Sebastian Vettel goes off and into the gravel. He loses it on the corner and spins sideways into the gravel. Any damage to the car? Luckily for the German, he can get the car out of there and back into the pits.

He is the only driver to not set a time in the opening 20 minutes of session two.

Steve Dennis‏: School trip in late 80's, teacher showing us how to change down a gear before overtaking on the motorway, F1 cars sounded like jets.

Wait, what? You went to an F1 race for a school trip? I was lucky if my school took us to the local zoo for a day!

Just as I write that, Max Verstappen jumps to the top, nudging his Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo down to second. Verstappen's time to beat is 1:36.116.

Daniel Ricciardo is the fastest in the early stages of practice session two with a time of 1:36.426. Kimi Raikkonen is next in line, then Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton and the Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon.

Image source, USA Today Sports

Haas are on home tarmac, being the only American team in Formula 1. Kevin Magnussen was 11th fastest and Romain Grosjean was 15th quickest early on today and it has not started too well for Haas in session two.

Magnussen spins on one lap and then gets in the way of team-mate Grosjean a lap later.

Kayleigh: Finish work and #bbcf1, external is on. Lovely listening for my walk home.

Rod Peel: Good afternoon everyone. I have a new internet connection so now I can watch and listen at the same time!

Welcome, one and all.

Fernando Alonso is hoping to have a better time than this afternoon when he was the only man to not set a time because of a hydraulic leak.

He is heading out early on.

BBC Sport app users will need to click on the link to see the tweet.

Two Toro Rosso drivers eager to show what they can do for varying reasons.

Daniil Kvyat is fighting for his F1 future, and Brendon Hartley is hoping to create one.

We have mentioned grid penalties and this graphic will have those Honda employees hiding their eyes.

Image source, .

In case you missed it earlier, we are asking for your first Formula 1 memories and the first race (if any) you attended. Pictures if you have them would be great.

We are also asking for those memorable F1 debuts. Tweet us using the hashtag #bbcf1 and we will publish your messages to the world.

A couple of tweets from the teams and Pascal Wehrlein of Sauber is taking part in this session after missing out earlier on.

BBC Sport app users need to click on the link to see the tweets.

We have live commentary of practice session 2 online only by pressing the play button at the top of the page so sit back and enjoy.

Mike Heal‏: Kvyat still can prove a point. The Russian is talented, wouldn't have got that Red Bull seat. But do feel it's last chance saloon.

Earlier this week, another ex-Formula 1 driver, Jenson Button, was at BBC Towers as he took part in a Facebook Live, with his thoughts on all sorts of topics including retirement, whether Lewis Hamilton will win the world title and the time Button, who would go on to become a Formula 1 world champion, failed his driving test.

It is well worth a watch and you can see the video below. (BBC Sport app users may need to click on the link to watch the video.)

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Austin

Williams is the team on which much of the remaining driver market discussion is focusing. Their big choice is whether to stick with Felipe Massa, or take a gamble on bringing Robert Kubica back to F1, with reserve driver Paul Di Resta an outside bet. Kubica and Di Resta tested for the team in Hungary this week, and while Williams are saying nothing publicly about the test, the mood music is that Kubica is moving into position as favourite.

The test to evaluate Kubica’s readiness to return after seven years went well, it seems. And while Di Resta also drove strongly, it does not look at this stage as if anything happened to move Williams from their position of wanting to go with Kubica if they can.

Inevitably, though, there are doubts over someone who has been out of F1 for so long after sustaining such terrible injuries, and who still has only partial movement in his right arm after his horrific rally accident in 2011. Williams is an inherently conservative team when it comes to driver choices, and no decision has yet been made. But the Kubica comeback story is still very much alive.

Image source, Getty Images

Fernando Alonso is staying at McLaren, earlier today Max Verstappen signed an extension with Red Bull to keep him with the team until 2020.

So where can potential driver changes happen? Williams, maybe.

Amit Mandalia: Managed FP1 on my drive home but at the Royal Albert Hall for a more cultured evening so missing FP2. Sorry @bbcf1, external team.

We'll let it slide this one time Amit, just once though. Then it's a stewards' hearing.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Austin

Image source, Getty Images

Red Bull have not yet said what they plan to do with their junior team drivers after this race. It can be taken as read that Pierre Gasly, missing from this race to try to win the Super Formula title for Toro Rosso’s 2018 engine partner Honda in Japan, will be back for the final three races. But who will partner him?

The likelihood is that it will be Brendon Hartley, assuming the New Zealander does a decent job here in the US? Daniil Kvyat is back for this race, but why would they keep him on board when they clearly have major doubts about the Russian, who was dropped from Toro Rosso after Singapore? Kvyat would have to be an idiot not to sense the way the wind is blowing, and he is certainly not that.

“I think I deserve to have clarifications,” he said, “and we will get them together, one from another. I just do my job, I have a contract with Red Bull for a further two years, I think. As far as I have this contract, I have to do as well as I can, and then if there are any other opportunities, things, we discuss it together and decide what is the best thing to move forward."

We didn't see Daniil Kvyat in session one, but we are expecting to see him in session two and he is definitely a man with a point to prove after being dropped for Toro Rosso's last two races.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Austin

A plethora of engine-related grid penalties were confirmed as first practice came to a close - 25 places for debutant Brendon Hartley in the Toro Rosso, 20 for Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and five for McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne.

Max Verstappen is also expected to get a grid drop at Red Bull but that has not been confirmed yet. At Toro Rosso, confusingly, Hartley is taking penalties that were accumulated while the car was driven by Daniil Kvyat, who has returned to F1 as the New Zealander’s team-mate this weekend after being dropped two races ago.

This is because, technically, Hartley is replacing Pierre Gasly, who replaced Kvyat, the Frenchman attempting to win the Japanese Super Formula series this weekend, while Kvyat is now in as a replacement for Carlos Sainz, who has moved to Renault.

Red Bull have not confirmed whether Gasly will return to replace Hartley or Kvyat for the final three races of the season, but it is expected to be Kvyat who is dropped once more.

Image source, AFP