A fancy graphic of the track for you, courtesy of the official Formula 1 Twitter account.

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

Kayleigh: Loooong day at Alton Towers. Back in time to catch quali! Going for Ham, Vet, Ric.

Jack of all trades: This overhype by the media of @LewisHamilton, external winning a fourth title could have a detrimental effect.

BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

Amit Mandalia‏: So many to mention including many World Champions… do @Jack_Nicholls, external@JennieGow, external@TomClarksonF1, external & @allanmcnish, external count? #bbcf1, external

Of course they do, and that is the perfect tee-up to say that our BBC Radio 5 live sports extra coverage is live now. Listen along to our team of Jack Nicholls, Mark Gallagher and Jennie Gow by pressing the play button at the top.

The Voice of Boxing Michael Buffer is certainly looking forward to announcing the drivers this weekend.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Austin

Evidence is mounting that Daniil Kvyat’s return to the cockpit of a Toro Rosso will be for only this one weekend.

Red Bull are waiting to see how Brendon Hartley gets on this weekend before making a final decision on who will partner Pierre Gasly when he returns for the next race in Mexico but the default position is that it will be Hartley as long as he goes well here in the US.

Toro Rosso exists to act as a feeder for drivers to Red Bull and sources have told BBC Sport the team see no scenario in which Kvyat would ever be drafted back into the senior team - after all, he has been dropped from it once, and last month he was dropped from Toro Rosso as well.

So why on earth would they run him again, unless Hartley proves he is not up to the job?

Image source, Getty Images

David Casado: Got shooed away by David Coulthard in Monaco in 2013 doing a BBC feature. But got a photo with him afterwards - top bloke.

PhilSlocombe: When a young man, I met Graham Hill at the Boys own Exibition where he was manning the Scalextric stand. He was one of my heroes.

Paul Vine: Met Murray Walker at Goodwood hotel, invited me to sit and chat with him and his wife and both were absolutely lovely. Made my year.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Austin

Carlos Sainz has done a stellar job so far on his debut for the Renault team, following his transfer from Toro Rosso. Sainz was faster than team-mate Nico Hulkenberg on Friday and 0.042secs off him in final practice - despite the German having an upgraded engine that is said to be worth 0.1-0.2secs.

After Friday practice he would not be drawn on his expectations for qualifying, saying it depended on whether he continued to make progress in final practice after a good first day, but he did say he hoped he could help get both cars into the top 10.

It all rather puts into perspective the performances of Jolyon Palmer, dropped after the last race in Japan, whose average deficit to Hulkenberg was more than 0.6secs this season. On only five occasions did Palmer manage to get within half a second of the German over one lap. On 10 occasions, the gap was more than 0.7secs.

Image source, Getty Images

So Max Verstappen will start well down the field because of a 15-place grid penalty, which was handed out to him earlier today.

Earlier this week, Verstappen was in a better mood as he and Daniel Ricciardo tried their hand at American football.

And you can watch how they got on, via the Red Bull Twitter feed below. BBC Sport app users may need to click on the link to watch.

Remember, some drivers are facing grid penalties. These are the drivers that are just going to be in damage-limitation mode during qualifying (which starts at 22:00 BST).

• Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren) 5 places
• Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 15 places
• Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) 20 places
• Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso) 25 places

Image source, Getty Images

This is the sixth staging of the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, with Sebastian Vettel (twice), Nico Rosberg (twice) and Lewis Hamilton taking pole positions.

Hamilton has also been in pole position for a United States Grand Prix in 2007 when it was in Indianapolis, a place where Kimi Raikkonen also sat on pole in 2003.

Both Vettel and Hamilton have had two pole positions at the United States Grand Prix, two behind Michael Schumacher, who holds the record with four.

Image source, .

More of your meetings with F1 personalities. Keep them coming in via #bbcf1. They don't have to be with Damon Hill. But they can be.

Sebastian Vettel desperately needs a good qualifying session tonight.

There was an embarrassing moment for the German in third practice, when he forgot he had left Red Bull at the end of the 2014 season.

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

We have a full in-depth programme on what makes Lewis Hamilton so good at qualifying.

Jennie Gow presents a Formula One special looking at why Hamilton has recorded more pole positions than any other driver.

Hear from Hamilton himself, his former team-mate Jenson Button, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and Allan McNish on what sets Hamilton apart on a single lap shoot-out.

Eight more pole positions for Lewis Hamilton than team-mate Valtteri Bottas this season.

Image source, .

It is not just the pole positions. From 71 times leading the grid, Lewis Hamilton has converted that into 39 victories, eight second-placed finishes and a further eight occupying third place.

Image source, .

Why so much love for Lewis Hamilton? Maybe because no-one has had more pole positions in their career than the Brit.

Image source, .

Remember, there is still time to predict your top three in qualifying. Every single one that has been shared via #bbcf1 has Lewis Hamilton top.

Some people are not expecting Sebastian Vettel to make the top three.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Austin

There was only 0.092 seconds between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel in final practice and Mercedes believe that actually the Ferrari driver could have been quicker had he not been caught by a cross-wind through the Esses.

But they are still confident that, all things being equal, Hamilton will have more than enough to take pole position.

Image source, Rex Features

Which ties in nicely with our talking point of your stories of meeting people from Formula 1.

Joe Barker‏: Wasn’t looking ahead and had heavy collision with Eric Boullier in Chelsea. Wanted to ask for photo after but if looks could kill...

Ben Gould: I was almost knocked over by Frank Williams in a hotel in Doha, as I didn't notice him coming out of the lift!

RIP, Jules...

The Haas duo of Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen also took the opportunity to go and meet the fans during the break.

There will be lots of support for Haas, the only American team in Formula 1, although they had a pretty miserable time in practice, with Grosjean's session ending early when he went spinning into the gravel.