Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Miami

There was quite a discussion in the drivers' briefing on Friday evening about the shortening of the DRS zone and why it had happened. They were told it could not be changed for this weekend unless there was a safety issue. But the general trend will be reviewed ahead of Imola.

The argument of many drivers is that relying on the data of last year, as the FIA is, does not work because the cars are harder to follow this year. FIA's position is there is only a small data set right now but they are open to the argument being made.

The FIA has made a few tweaks to the DRS zones for the Miami Grand Prix this weekend, reducing the first two of three zones by 75 metres, while the final DRS boost onto the start-finish straight remains untouched.

The DRS reduction down the main straight in Azerbaijan was not met with positive reviews from drivers or team bosses, with many feeling the lack of overtaking opportunities resulted in a "boring" race.

BBC Sport's chief F1 writer, Andrew Benson, who is out in Miami, has some news from the drivers' briefing that took place last night...

Some big names in the paddock today. Elon Musk is chatting to Christian Horner in the Red Bull garage.

There are just handful of updates that have been brought to the coastal metropolis of Miami.

Ferrari - floor

Alfa Romeo - beam wing

Aston Martin - cooling louvres

Alpha Tauri - front wing, sidepod inlet

Haas - floor

Image source, Getty Images

This is how George Russell found Friday's frustrating running in the Mercedes: "Similar thing to last year, when we were quickest on Friday and then knocked out in Q2 on Saturday.

"The car just changed even from the medium [tyre] run in P2. I felt strong, was on a good lap which would have put me in the top four and then put the soft tyres on and the car just wasn't working for me.

"I think we understand a little bit why that is and have time to improve things overnight. Fine margins.

"If we get things right, there is no reason we can't be ahead of Ferrari and Aston Martin."

Image source, Getty Images

The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix can't come soon enough for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes.

Hamilton said the team "desperately" need the upgrades pencilled in for the next race at Imola after a difficult second outing in Miami.

"It's a kick in the guts and it's a little bit difficult to take sometimes," said the seven-time world champion, who finished 0.928 seconds slower than Max Verstappen's Red Bull.

"We desperately need those upgrades. We have to keep our head down for one more race and hopefully we will start a new path next race."

Hamilton finished second practice in seventh, while team-mate George Russell was down in 15th place.

He added: "Same as every weekend - we are a second down. [Miami] is a great place to be but we are not particularly quick and it's a struggle out there. P1 looked quite good but in P2 the true pace came out.

"I am going to stay hopeful that we can get the car in a better place. We had the extreme bouncing last year but it feels like we are racing the same car."

Image source, Getty Images

The track in Miami has resurfaced this year with the hope of giving drivers more grip and creating better racing. But many drivers on Friday, Charles Leclerc being one of them, experienced slips, slides and a fair few lock-ups across the two hours of practice.

"Intense Friday in Miami with high temperatures and a lot of running," tweeted Leclerc's team-mate Carlos Sainz. "The tarmac is very different to last year so it was important to get a good feeling of the new conditions."

The Spaniard added he had at least completed his full run plan yesterday, so his Ferrari crew have plenty of data to work through in the build-up to today's qualifying battle.

Image source, Getty Images

Max Verstappen produced even more heat on the Miami asphalt when he finished fastest in second practice with a time of 1:27.930 in the Red Bull.

Reigning world champion Verstappen headed the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, with team-mate Sergio Perez in fourth and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso in fifth.

While Leclerc did finish in the top three, his running was cut short when he crashed his SF-23 on the slippery track at Turn Seven with eight minutes to go.

There were no green shoots for Mercedes in the late sunshine in Florida as Lewis Hamilton ended the hour in seventh and George Russell was even further back in P15.

Image source, Getty Images

Friday's first practice session produced a timesheet-topping late show from Mercedes, with George Russell leading team-mate Lewis Hamilton to a Silver Arrows one-two.

Mercedes' times were set at the end of the opening hour on the soft tyres, allowing both Russell and Hamilton to move above the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Russell, who was 0.212 seconds quicker than Hamilton, was stuck in the garage for half of the session because of a steering problem.

"The car has some goodness, it is just very tricky to unlock it," said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.

Nico Hulkenberg caused a red-flag period when he crashed at Turn Three in his Haas. Alpha Tauri's Nyck de Vries also had an accident early on that terminated his session.

Welcome in, folks. Saturday is back in the fold of Formula 1's regular schedule after last weekend's sprint shootout and sprint race event.

Third practice gets under way at 17:30 BST.

Qualifying goes green at 21:00 BST.

Commentary of third practice is available online-only via the audio icon at the top of this page.

Coverage of qualifying is live on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, the BBC Sounds app and again on our text page.

No time to put your feet up, Pierre. The tailgate party for qualifying is about to begin.

Image source, Alpine Twitter